Old Tony Poem by Francis Duggan

Old Tony is a man who does not say much
Grey as a badger hard times he's been through
Perhaps one of the last survivors living
From the trenches in Europe of World War 2.

From Blackpool an old coastal Town in England
A hardy breed live by the Irish sea
And Tony still a fit looking old fellow
For one of eighty two or eighty three.

He came out to Australia in the early fifties
As he will tell you for the better life
But it has been the rocky road for Tony
Since the day he farewelled his young son and wife.

His wife Beth and their five year old Jack died in a house fire
Whilst Tony drove a Melbourne V line train
His cross in life for him to bear is heavy
He's been through years of grief and mental pain.

He never re-married nor fathered more children
And he is in his twilight years alone
Yet he is one who does not seem unhappy
Despite the many sorrows he has known.

One of the few survivors of Europe's war trenches
Many of his young comrades who fought by his side
Did not return home when the war was over
They now lay in a mass grave where they died.

When he returned home from war in Blackpool in his honour
There was a party and a street parade
But he is long one of the war forgotten
And the fame he earned for him did quickly fade.

Poor Tony is a really nice old fellow
And you'll not find a braver man than he
He came to live in Melbourne in the early fifties
From Blackpool in England by the Irish sea.