Age family obelisk in our village cove Church yard,
Stone chiseled of voice and soul forever silent,
Scarcely a name and rank where missed inscribed,
Of a vanished hero who lies here not with our Island,

Four score and more your folk and kin here long buried,
But you forever gone to distant battle of Monchy's field,
No dusty war bones under this mossy scribed family stone,
Yours forever under distant foreign soil lost and eternally sealed

Another time past century of different philosophies and values,
A trek from your cove home to the big town to sign up one day,
For worldly adventure your too young years you feigned,
To become a man to fight in France and Suvla Bay

From wind swept Pouch Cove to St. John's then to sail off to Devonport,
To far off Alexandria and Cairo to face brash strange heat and sand,
And then to your adventure at the rocky soil of Gallipoli,
To experience the art and virile exploits of war first hand

You and your Brothers wade chest high in cold fall Mediterranean waters,
And from the sea you scramble to the shores of the Dardanelles,
In the ink black overcast night advance for cover amid the rock and scrub,
Whilst a storm reigned overhead of shot and Turkish defensive shells

For three four months the Empire's men and Turks each other bravely fought,
From that hopeless fight and fiasco the first of the valiant had fell,
Young boys became brave men who learned a raw tough new lesson,
By surviving that horrific war's shocking initiation of fire and hell

And this dreadful baptism ended to Egypt you went come spring set sail for France,
One fateful July at Beaumont your comrades went up over the trench wall,
There too many brave men cut down advancing to the Jerry's front line,
Next day only sixty-eight of over eight hundred island soldiers would answer roll call

And next April a short trek north the Newfoundland Regiment went,
Not far from Arras, south east to a small village called Monchy-le-Preux,
And of that fight brave men of heroic deeds would come to be known,
But died many more brave islanders heroes including First Essex comrades too

To survive the baptism of war at Gallipoli and then Beaumont Hamel,
To fall at Monchy Private Daniel Connors number six forty nine,
An island son of the Empire's gallant Newfoundland Regiment,
To never again to feel and enjoy an Atlantic summer sunshine

So no remains of you my distant kin in our cove church yard,
No island home no kin close by no wife no daughter no son,
A boy left our rocky shore and hastily brutally became a man,
Your young life before lived was too hastily but bravely undone

But know this my forever young brave distant folk,
Your brother to his son he did proudly gave your name,
No family for you too young in truth to fight
Your brother my grandfather your name to his son he did the same,

And fight for truth freedom gave all you and your Brothers did,
Your King to you and your fighting brethren was bestowed 'The Royal'
Proud today all those since then who wear the northern antlered deer,
Though you eternally remain ever lost under distant soil
  Submitted By: Gerry Connors