![\"philip-pickford\"](\"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Philip-Pickford-240x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Fellow Rifleman Philip Pickford<\/strong><\/p>\n “My Badge”<\/strong><\/p>\n When the rag was a flag, and the staff was a Pole, As a youth I would think of when they were whole.<\/strong><\/p>\n But now I’m a man and old I might be. But my BADGE is still here for all to see.<\/strong><\/p>\n By fellow Rifleman<\/strong><\/p>\n P. Pickford<\/strong><\/p>\n ” Recruit “<\/strong><\/p>\n Bugles, Bugles, Marching quick Move to the left, move to the right \u201cMove to the right in three\u2019s Quick March\u201d Down to the ranges Out on the Beacons The Band marches on By fellow Rifleman<\/strong><\/p>\n P. Pickford<\/strong><\/p>\n ” <\/strong>T<\/strong>he Chairs “<\/strong><\/p>\n (To sit and think a bit)<\/p>\n A memorial to stand so proud, Take a rest have a seat, And while you sit in the cool day air, To some it\u2019s just a piece of stone, And when you leave here, And Leave you must. R.I.P<\/strong><\/p>\n In memory of all Riflemen. By fellow Rifleman<\/strong><\/p>\n P. Pickford<\/strong><\/p>\n ” Grandad WW1 “<\/strong><\/p>\n Grandad made me laugh, He also made me cry. Told me he had nightmares, and was frightened of the dark, He mentioned \u201c Knoddys Washing\u201d Then came that sad September, When Grandad passed away. Then late in December, A parcel came for me. One photo and letters, The cracked and faded photo was of a group of men. I turned it over slowly,and began to read. My best Pals Killed 11th November 1914 By Fellow Rifleman <\/strong><\/p>\n P. Pickford<\/strong><\/p>\n ” Reunion “<\/strong><\/p>\n Could I, Should I, Will I or not, By fellow Rifleman<\/strong><\/p>\n P. Pickford<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201c On Patrol \u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Cold and windy on Patrol Move to the left, Move to the right Watch that window, Watch that car Who\u2019s that person, I know that face ID. checked, and we know it\u2019s him Here come the stones, the verbal abuse Back at base, a warmer place Boots come off, face is cleaned By fellow Rifleman<\/strong><\/p>\n P.Pickford<\/strong><\/p>\n ” Mucker ” !<\/strong><\/p>\n Saw my mucker the other day By Fellow Rifleman <\/strong><\/p>\n P.Pickford<\/strong><\/p>\n Short Poem [untitled]<\/strong><\/p>\n Snipers, Nail Bombs, Bottles and stones. The damage is here, All in my head.<\/p>\n When the cold hearted Bastards By Fellow Rifleman<\/strong><\/p>\n P.Pickford<\/strong><\/p>\n ” Wasted years wasted lives “<\/strong> By Fellow Rifleman<\/strong><\/p>\n P.Pickford<\/strong><\/p>\n ” Mechanised ” 432<\/strong><\/p>\n [I Love my APC]<\/strong><\/p>\n All aboard hold on tight 15 tons of snarling steel Rubber pads on the tracks Sat up straight in the Cupola Bang you head cut your thumb Then came the day it flew away Up went the revs 40, 50, 60, K the roads quite straight Then from the rear Crabbing, crabbing, From the corporal just above \u201cNot your fault Driver\u201d, Bloody well done [ I HATE MY APC ]<\/p>\n By Fellow Rifleman<\/strong><\/p>\n P.Pickford<\/strong><\/p>\n ” The Bakery “<\/strong><\/p>\n Pipes and Ovens, Rollers to” What a place to Fight your way through”. By fellow Rifleman <\/strong> Recruit Move to the left, move to the right
\nWho\u2019s that Corporal with a little black stick?<\/p>\n
\nIf we don\u2019t get this done
\nWe\u2019ll be here all night.<\/p>\n
\nMove to the right, and off we go
\nOne forty a minute, we\u2019re not Marching slow.<\/p>\n
\nWhat a good shot
\nHere comes the stew, and it\u2019s not very hot.<\/p>\n
\nWith one week to go,
\nThe going is hard in this deep cold snow.<\/p>\n
\nThis is my proud day
\nLeaves coming up,
\nI\u2019ll be home with some pay.<\/p>\n
\nTo catch the eye of the passing crowd.<\/p>\n
\nSee who passes, who you meet.<\/p>\n
\nThink about these stone carved chairs.<\/p>\n
\nTo others, a symbol that this was once, their home.<\/p>\n
\nRemember those Riflemen, who now are Dust,<\/p>\n
\nWho have passed through Peninsula Barracks
\nAnd called It \u201cHome\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nOften he would ramble, and I often wondered why<\/p>\n
\nAlso said he hated, walking in the park.<\/p>\n
\nAnd I said \u201cLove kids TV\u201d
\nBut I shut up rather quickly, when he turned and glared at me.<\/p>\n
\nWhen Friends and Family gathered to send him on his way.<\/p>\n
\nWith some of Grandads possessions.
\nSo it didn\u2019t go under the tree.<\/p>\n
\nPaper cuttings to.
\nA Brass belt buckle
\nAnd a Cap badge,
\nWith a bullet hole right through.<\/p>\n
\nSitting in a dugout that looked just like a den,<\/p>\n
\nThese words they still haunt me
\nHis ramblings, I didn\u2019t heed.<\/p>\n
\nRFN \u201cchalky\u201d White.
\nCpl Charlie Oaks.<\/p>\n
\nAt the Battle of \u201cNONNE BOSSCHEN \u201d<\/p>\n
\nTravel to Winchester to see my Old Lot.
\nThirty years since I’ve been down there.
\nCould I, should I, Will I Dare.
\nOld and Fat, With Greying Hair
\nGot a Limp, and use a stick.
\nStill look smart, But not as quick.
\nHotel booked, Train ticket to.
\nMore spit and polish on this other shoe.
\nBrand new Blazer, And Regi Tie
\nBetter go before I die….<\/p>\n
\nGets right through to one\u2019s poor soul
\nMuch, much, better than the dreaded dole.<\/p>\n
\nDon\u2019t bunch up, but keep it tight<\/p>\n
\nNot much longer, we\u2019re not going far<\/p>\n
\nCome on guys lets pick up the pace<\/p>\n
\nCall for a vehicle and let\u2019s get him in
\nThe people are gathering
\nThey\u2019ll soon start a din.<\/p>\n
\nHate this place, it\u2019s so obtuse
\nOne man down, But he\u2019s ok
\nWe\u2019ve got to move on; it\u2019s no place to stay.<\/p>\n
\nThe man is known and arrested
\nWeapons checked, now we get rested.<\/p>\n
\nHead on the pillow. Let\u2019s see whats dreamed.<\/p>\n
\nDown the road Fazakerley way
\nFound the ward, found the bed
\n..Jesus Christ !!!!!.
\nI thought he was dead.
\nTubes in here tubes in there ..
\nThen the bugger rose up and got me a chair.<\/p>\n
\nNone of these things Broke my bones.<\/p>\n
\n\u2026\u2026 shot my friend Dead.<\/p>\n
\nLots of tears from mothers and wives
\nSons are gone fathers to, blown to bits by God knows who
\nThe “Troubles” Insurgency, Civil war, All of this the soldiers saw
\nTo many dead, so many bled, others with memories trapped in there head
\nWasted years wasted lives”<\/p>\n
\nGoing to take you on a ride of fright!!!!
\n[These few words will haunt me later]<\/p>\n
\n2 white tillers and no steering wheel<\/p>\n
\nLots of kit on all the racks<\/p>\n
\nWearing my new Battle bowler<\/p>\n
\nEven makes your bottom numb<\/p>\n
\nAnd the dead man\u2019s pedal, didn\u2019t work<\/p>\n
\nOff like a dart
\nFluttering stomach
\nGreat beating Heart
\nLucky for me it was only a F..t<\/p>\n
\nIf we stay this way\u2026<\/p>\n
\nA word in my ear
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve found the shut off tap\u201d<\/p>\n
\nYes, slowing down
\nFeel quite sick after that last town.<\/p>\n
\nComes a Knee, a gentle shove<\/p>\n
\nAs we come to a halt in the afternoon Sun.<\/p>\n
\nThe smell of warm rotting bread,
\nA Walk-in the Park the Boss man said.
\nSee a Gunman take a shot, Back it came just as Hot,was it a ricochet…I think not.
\nMoving forward bit by bit…Jesus Christ this place is Shit.
\nAlong a Gantry,Down some stairs….Made it through…I’ll say some Prayers.<\/p>\n
\nP. Pickford<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nBugles, Bugles, Marching quick
\nWho\u2019s that Corporal with a little black stick?<\/p>\n
\nIf we don\u2019t get this done
\nWe\u2019ll be here all night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[17,396,50],"class_list":["post-11643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-memorial-at-peninsula","tag-poems-by-p-pickford","tag-royal-green-jackets","category-6-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11643\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}