Old Stu Poem by Francis Duggan

Though her better days she obviously has seen
He is still devoted to his ageing Queen
A portrait of her in her young years hang on his lounge room wall
His past he still clings to and he loves to recall

His younger years in Europe in World War 2
Where he won medals for his bravery and was one of the few
To return home unscathed to a huge victory parade
In Luton his Hometown much of him was made.

The wanderlust in him adventure he planned
And in the late forties he migrated to this Southern Land
He married an Aussie she bore him a son
Two years ago she died in her sleep she had turned eighty one.

She was not unhealthy although she was old
In the morning beside him she lay stiff and cold
He grieved for himself and he grieved for his wife
They had their ups and downs and they shared much in life.

His son in his fifties showing his years in gray
With one daughter who gave birth to a daughter last May
They live in North Queensland far distant from Stu
The old English hero of World War 2.

On Saturday night at the local pub he sups on his beer
And stories of his adventures I am obliged to hear
To his Queen and the Union Jack he is still true
Patriotism not lacking in gray haired old Stu.

Yet despite his life's experience and all he's been through
He says if he were young again similar things he would do
He would risk life and limb in war and laugh death in the face
For the love of his Monarch his Flag and his Race.

That with age comes wisdom is partly based on lies
As some men grow older but they do not grow wise
And old Stu one example though time has left him gray
He would still fight in war if he were young today.

The accent he brought with him till death with him will stay
All of us Migrants are similar in many a way
In the pub he always talks of his glorious prime
And his story of his life I've heard many a time.