In 2008, I travelled with my brother David to visit Belgium and northern France in order to honour and commemorate those who fought in the name of freedom and democracy. We toured many of the WWI battlefields and cemeteries. This poem which I wrote this month (January 2025) is part of that remembrance, albeit sixteen years later.
A Trip to Remember
We went to remember the Great War and those who did give
Those who fought for democracy, freedom and so we could live
We travelled the roads and fields where they walked, fought and fell
At cemetaries and memorials, we bowed our heads for a brief spell
In the Somme we honoured the men who gave it their all
O’er fields they fought hand and tooth until the last call
Their spirit lives with stones marked with here doth they lie
Never forgotten, families and nations still do they cry
In Beaumont Hamel, we honoured the men who had risen at dawn
And moments later had found seven hundred hurt and gone
All from the Rock, brothers, sons and husbands did fall
Now in their memory, a grand moose proudly stands tall
At Vimy Ridge we honoured the men who got to the top
They battled together and won but thousands did drop
As soldiers from Canada, they showed the world who we were
A strong fighting force which no one could deter
In Passchendaele we honoured the men who battled in hell
Over and over the bells in their memory will forever knell
Fighting in muddy acres and attacked with poisonous gas
Hundreds of thousands went forward but could not last
At Lens we honoured the men who fought for the little hill
In a large valley the spot that controlled the enemy’s will
Known as Hill 70, Canadians battled as family and friend
Then guarded that knoll until the first world war it did end
In Amiens and Cambrai we honoured the men of 100 days
They pushed through to the end so their arms they could raise
Thousands sacrificed and are buried throughout the land
As they fought in the day, they lie forever hand-in-hand
Through all these places they did fight and sacrifice
At the call of their country and King, they paid the price
We remember with gratitude with our hearts beating proud
Quietly and forever their contribution ringing out loud