Probably my favorite poem of that time. If I should die, think only this of me: That there’s some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England. There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam; A body of England’s, breathing English air, Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home. And think, this heart, all evil shed away, A pulse in the eternal mind, no less Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given; Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness, In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
https://bsky.app/profile/chriso-wiki.bsky.social/post/3m56rvvqicn2h Remembering all who gave so much.
Settled for watching the event from Whitehall as our local church is somewhat unwelcoming. The was an interesting piece in it on pipers, which brought this home even more. When I leave this world behind me To another, I will go And if there are no pipes in heaven I'll be going down below If friends in time be severed Someday we will meet again I'll return to leave you never Be a piper to the end This has been a day to die for Now the day is almost done Up above, a quiet seabird Turns to face the setting sun Now the evening dove is calling And all the hills are burning red And before the night comes falling Clouds are lined with golden thread We watched the fires together Shared our quarters for a while Walked the dusty roads together Came so many miles This has been a day to die on Now the day is almost done Here the pipes, will lay beside me Silent with the battle drum If friends in time be servered Someday here we will meet again I'll return to leave you never Be a piper to the end They are the lyrics to "Piper To The End" by Mark Knopfler, written about his uncle Freddie, who died in 1940 at Ficheaux, near Arras in Northern France, aged 20. Freddie was a piper in the 1st Battalion, Tyneside Scottish, The Black Watch, Royal Highland Regiment. Pipers were apparently unarmed, and around half of the pipers that lead their regiments into battle paid the ultimate price.
