The last post.

My father was a Chelsea pensioner. There were lots in there like the Colonal.

He was a retired Colonel
Spent all his life in the army
Spilled his blood on foreign shores
"Men like him are barmy"
That's what my Mum said

He walked as if he were on parade
Each movement precisely so
His look surveying regiments
Or keenly weighing up the foe
That stood around the bar

His sentences were to the point
His words came crisp and clear
So that there should be no mistakes
And the ones at the rear could hear
Some almost taking notes

Every night he left the bar
At precisely ten fifteen
Before he left he'd raise his glass
Saying "gentlemen, the Queen! "
The domino players would rise

When he said 'Morning! ' to my dad
He almost gave salute
Dad's back would snap up ramrod straight
He'd look to check his boots
Wiping them on his pants

He didn't get to give his life
For country or for Queen
He slipped away so quiet like
As if he'd never been
He didn't want a fuss

They said he'd known for six straight years
That death was on the stairs
"Joe Cancer is an enemy
That takes no prisoner's"
That's what the Butcher said

"The foe will sleep more peaceful now
Knowing that the Colonels gone
But little do the blighters know
There's more where he came from."
That's what my Dad said.

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

A life dedicated to Queen and Country. Strict discipline. I have a good picture in my eye of the Colonel. He probably wasn't an easy person to live with. Your mum may well have been right Bryan:) Cancer is a tough enemy that beat him at the end. A good read on a Tuesday morning. I have great admiration for the Chelsea Pensioners.

Chris

[Bryan Sefton]

He went through the lot, the old man. Dunkirk,Africa, Italy. He was wounded and hospitalised in a hospital beneath Visuvius when it erupted. He signed up in 1932 for 22 years. He cried when his wound meant he had to leave the army. A friend of his, to whome I had to send his letter back which he had written to him replied with an escapade that they were involved in, going behind enemy lines to rescue a wounded soldier under heavy fire opened my eyes to what he'd been through. Thank You Chris for your comments, they're always a welcome read.