David Page- aka Harry Riley

Twenty men set off that day in the good ship Marie Louie
With a cargo of rum and a fine sail
And the devil for company
...

There came a man amongst them, just an ordinary soul
Made no claims to be an athlete, won no medals cup or bowl
He did not look the soldier, had no prowess with the sword
But the world had found a saviour, and they sought his humble word
...

Where did they go-the times we knew
Those voices...people passing through
Such memories, places, fading fast
When young, we thought they'd always last
...

Little princess you've been born into wealth untold
You may live a long life and grow very old
Your every wish will be yours to command
With servants 'aplenty and always to hand
...

Will you remember 'D' Day?
Do you even know what it means?
Did you know it began our deliverence?
Do you even care two beans?
...

Let loose the dogs of war
Let bullets fly and bombs rain down
We have to kill some more
It's not our fault, the world must know
...

I'm sorry Ma, I've got to go
Lord Kitchener says he needs me so...
I'm not the bravest or so bold
But a safe long life just turns me cold
...

'Time Out'
There was a rustling in the bushes
They were creeping through the trees
They were spreading through the jungle
...

Britons fought, and many died at the Battle of Waterloo
They gave their all and sometimes more...
Defending King and Country and the only God they knew
But later, sheathing weapons, with duty proudly done
...

Victoria Cross is a hero's cross
And winning one is rare
But did you ever hear of the Kiwi man
Whose valour won him a pair?
...

Preacher Josiah Dobbs to prisoner Jeremiah Brandreth:
'Do you now confess your sins and repent to the Lord thy maker? '
Brandreth:
There is another yet. A trial, never did he see. His sins far overweigh my own.
...

Two old friends: Admiral Horatio Nelson and Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood have met aboard the Flagship HMS Victory on the eve of the battle of Trafalgar...
Lord Nelson:
'We've seen some changes you and I and more are yet to come. We've carried battles to the foe and watched him dance a merry jig, with gunfire all around.'
...

From the coal-black streets of Eastwood...Dark and Dreary
A mother's voice rose sharply...Oh, so weary!
Yo'll not go down the pit, my son, your work-life will be brighter! '
Adding grimly...
...

The older we get and the people we've met
Those we remember and those we forget
Faces...faces... so many faces
Working and playing, in a myriad of places
...

I am 'memory' and I have a lot to do
To educate the world, and to start with lucky children such as you
I know how long you have to live and I know when you will die
But I am not here to make you laugh, nor here to make you cry
...

Heaven knows
Pentrich Martyrs to a cause you fell
You had your say and were locked away
There never was a hope in hell
...

Hell is a city in 2022
No place for me. No place for you
Far, far away in The Ukraine
Where missiles and bombs splatter down like rain
...

Did you ever see such a land where they will sing
And dance, and laugh and cry with the Little Leprecauns
Did you ever see such a Beautiful Isle
Of Magic, Myth, and Mystery
...

I went to a party the day that I died
...

It was a cold and dreary winter's morn
When that shy little orhan child was born
Unloved, unwanted and abandoned
By that brutal mother of a storm
...