Cecil’s Watch,

This poem is dedicated To the Merchant Navy who served with pride, and to Cecil Lambert (1930–2013), perhaps our youngest Merchant Navy Mariner. He carried the weight of the world on young shoulders and faced the fire on the beach with the courage of a veteran. We honor his service and his story.

Cecil’s Watch,

The sun was low and blazing red,

We spoke of wars and men long dead.

I told of how the warships raced,

And how the German subs were chased.

Then Cecil smiled and took a drink,

To pull his mind back from the brink.

“I wasn’t yet thirteen,” he said,

“But earned a man’s own daily bread.”

“I lied and said that I was older,

To be a Vardy timber holder.

We sailed from Random Island Sound,

To where the heavy iron was found.”

The island shook with sudden thunder,

As ships were torn and pulled asunder.

The pier was hit, the concrete broke,

The sky was filled with fire and smoke.

“I dropped and prayed upon the sand,

While terror gripped the rocky land.

The Rose Castle took a heavy hit,

As hell itself was surely lit.”

“The sounds still echo in my ears,

Across the bridge of fifty years.

But worst of all the awful noise,

Were cries for help from dying boys.”

I watched the dories leave the shore,

To row against the waves of war.

Then depth charges began to pound,

And shook the very island ground.

A salt-stained tear fell from his eye,

For friends who had to bleed and die.

A boy who stood among the men,

And never was a child ag

James E Mercer *** March 8, 2026 *** Copyright protectedBoy on the Beach