War And Remembrance - The First Flag Poem by Paul Warren

During the Great War Australians fought under the Union Jack
But a group of Newcastle women decided the troops that

Fought the war on the Western Front against the Germans
Should fight under their own flag for the world to see their men

Were from the Australian country for which they proudly fought
They gave General Birdwood a red ensign that flew as it ought

From his headquarters through those dark and broken years
And at the end of the war when thoughts of remembrance tears

It was brought back and hung in the Newcastle Cathedral
As one of the first memorials to these lost men and women all

Although the country itself was only fourteen years old
This symbol gave meaning for remembrance as they were told

But as the years went in the silk from the flag disintegrated
And the local bishop wanted the flag to survive and instigated

The preservation of the flag for all time for the people's soul
And now the preservation of the flag has been done for all

Dean Williams has stumbled across the flag and started it
With it now being displayed at the Cathedral as it duly fits.

© Paul Warren Poetry