Remembrance

My mother was five when her Dad died.
My Grandfather Jack would never hold his youngest daughter or help his family through the hardships of The Great Depression.
I am his grandson and was born on Armistice Day, 11 November, since changed to Remembrance Day, to remember those who fought in all wars. For me that day has special meaning.

Remembrance

Clarence ‘Jack’ Hemphill, First Field Ambulance,
Tended to wounded soldiers in pain,
Cut down by deadly machine guns, in France,
Where it is feared, forty-five per cent were slain.
Gassed in the trenches and shot in the lung,
Jack was one of the men who answered the call,
Whose wartime story remains unsung,
From another time, forgotten by all.
Jack survived the Great War’s fields of slaughter,
But TB ensured his life was shattered,
Not living to see his youngest daughter,
Unable to enjoy a life that mattered!
Politicians and others, who bay for war,
Must lead by example, and go before!

Bill Edmunds
November 2021
billedmunds.com