Ballad of the Brave - circa 1950s
Added to by D. Manners: 1992, 93, 97, 99
Ballad Of The Brave
Attend, all ye who list, to hear
This noble Battery’s praise.
Displaying at the Tournament
The wars of ancient days.
T’was at the siege of Ladysmith,
Our troops were on the run,
When General White despairing cried
“For God’s sake send a gun”
The Navy heard his urgent call
And built him on the spot,
Heavy Field Gun carriages
Designed by Percy Scott.
From Simon’s Bay the Powerful
Went steaming through the night,
Her Guns’ Crews doing Chasm drill
In training for the fight.
They went ashore at Durban
And caught a train inland,
Seen off by all the populace
And headed by the band.
At Ladysmith they found the town
Infested by the Boer,
The place was full of obstacles,
Holes-In-The-Wall galore.
They got their guns in action
And kept the foe at bay,
And it is writ in history
That the Navy saved the day.
From there the guns went forward
Through Transvaal and the Rand,
Getting lost in chasms
And being hauled out by hand.
The Powerful sailed for Portsmouth
When her time aboard was through,
And people came from far and wide
To cheer the Field Gun’s Crews.
They paraded at the Tournament,
Appeared before the Queen,
That’s how the whole thing first began
And ever since has been…
Addon by Danny Manners…
But time has now passed
And we have moved on,
Field gun is retired,
No more will they run.
They said that it was no longer to be,
They said it wasn't current for today's Royal Navy.
Leadership, courage, stamina and grit,
If that's not the navy then so be it.
After one hundred years they stopped those men;
Running and swinging no more for them.
They would return to their ships, a forgotten crew,
Very soon to be only the brave and the few...
As I knelt in the chasm on that final night.
Real man tears I held back, for that was my fight.
Because what has given me so much joy,
Was thrown away like a discarded toy.
We then went back home and retired our kit.
All of us feeling a little bit shit.
No more first wheels, no trail on the wall.
Never again to answer that bugle call.
We live in a world where field gun is gone.
Only remembered in poems and songs.
So remember those guys who once manned the loops.
Think of them too when you think of our troops.
Silver medals they have in their pockets I bet,
The bronze discarded but still covered in sweat.
Remember the gunner who run at the court.
Don't let their sacrifice be remembered for naught…
Addon by D. Manners 92, 93, 97, 99…
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