Epitaph on a New Army
No drums they wished, whose thoughts were tied To girls and jobs and mother, Who rose and drilled and killed and died Because they saw no other, Who died without the hero's throb, And if they trembled, hid it, Who did not fancy much their job But thought it best, and did it.
Editor's note: Michael Thwaites was a Rhodes Scholar from Australia who served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and saw service in the North Atlantic.
- Anthology
- The Voice of War -- Michael Joseph Ltd (1995)