Remembering the legacy of Australians at War
Dennis Ringrose, 87, ex Sherwood Foresters and Royal Warwickshire Regiments, reflects on the legacy of the generations of Australians who’ve gone to war to fight for their country.
I was born in 1929 in Nottingham in the UK, the youngest child in a family of six. I started work at 14 at John Player and Sons, where I stayed for four years, before leaving to start my National Service. After 20 weeks of infantry training I was sent to my country regiment, the Sherwood Foresters, before I was sent overseas to Jerusalem Palestine and transferred to the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. I stayed there until it became Israel so in a way I saw history being made. I then travelled to Salonika, Greece to become a batman (an officer's personal servant) to Roman Catholic Padre, who had been wounded at the great battle at Arnhem; he was a great fellow to look after. After two years I was released from National Service and started work at the Raleigh Industries where I met my wife Doreen. We’ve now been married 64 years and have three children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
My dabbling in poetry did not start until about 2000. I have always been interested in the military side of things and as an Australian citizen for many years, I decided to try my hand at capturing the most important national occasions in Australian history. I’ve always had an affinity with Australia, one that was struck up when as a teenager I watched the film Forty Thousand Horsemen. The moment when the horsemen come over the sand hills singing Waltzing Matilda always stuck in my mind.
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Australians at War
Even before the year of our Federation
The Commonwealth called on the men of this nation
Off to South Africa when the Boer war began
Who would forget the name Breaker Morant
Then the world war to end all wars
Unfortunately this aim was full of flaws
Ypres, Cambrai, Passchendaele and the Somme
Under the mud and poppies of Flanders
Many would never again see the sun
And in the desert came the Aussies, to fight the Turk and the Hun
Many young men volunteered thinking it would be fun
Gallipoli saw the Anzacs, a tradition was begun
But many lost their mates before the withdrawal was finally done
After four years of conflict and peace was finally restored
The casualties were counted, it produced a dismal record
The years rolled by and once again the war clouds began to appear
Through that infamous man Hitler many countries were full of fear
After Dunkirk came the Battle of Britain to save a nation
In the airforce came the Aussies to help with Englands salvation
Amongst their aces never to be forgot
Was a hero called Bluey Trusscott
And all those men in navy blue
Night after night over Europe they flew
Once again the desert called, things had run amok
Who will ever forget the Australians defence of Tobruk
As the Japanese approached Australia the desert troops were brought home
But after retraining off to the jungle they were sent to roam
With the Fuzzies help and without fail
Performed their heroics on the Kakoda trail
The navy too they played their part
Many ships and crews lost from the start
The massacre of valiant nurses made the blood tingle
Lucky to survive was Sister Bullwinkle
But finally after countless years
The war was ended and there were tears
Service people returned to their homes for release
And the condition of the POW’S did not please
As in the first war the cream of the nation had been plundered
Will this be the last time people wondered
Then again in 1950 came the call
North and South Korea were at war
Through the mistake of General McArthur
Who went over the border and then strayed further
This gave the Chinese an excuse to enter the fray
Causing the United Nations to retreat day after day
Until an Aussie battalion at the battle of Kapjong
Defeated a Chinese division, another honour was won
Then after months of heated deliberation
Peace came to a devided nation
To recognise against the enemy the Aussies constant battle
The Americans gave them a special medal
In the years to come without failure
Came a conflict to fight communists in Malaysia
Would world friction ever end
To which Australia would her forces send
Then on the horizon came another conflict
For the first time the services included conscripts
Many had never heared of the name Vietnam
For many a new experience had begun
They fought people in black pyjamas
In the paddies they looked like local farmers
So in later years there came defeat
Back to their homeland forced to retreat
And I’ll never know why they were treated like dirt
Because the ‘’take over’’ by communism they had tried to avert
And like their forefathers they had done their best
Many of them had been laid to rest
Once again Australians had given their all
We hoped that never again they would have to answer the call
But we know this is not true
Because tyranny of nations has begun anew
The Gulf war, East Timor, Afghanistan and Irak too
Thank goodness this time casualties are few
But in the future if the bugle calls again
Rest assured the Australian nation will not refrain
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