I have been posting this poem on the Internet for twenty years so I presume it is well known. It was found among the possesions of my Uncle Willie, from Malcolmwood Farm at High Blantyre in Lanarkshire Scotland, after he was killed at Passchendaele in 1917 when serving with the Australian Imperial Forces having signed up when visiting his uncle's farm in Australia. We can never be certain that he wrote it but here it is....
William Pettigrew: The ANZAC poem
Now, this is the creed of the ANZAC men, The men with the hearts of gold, What we won from the foe, by the steel and the gun, By the steel and the gun we hold.
From the heights afar, and the sky above, There may come the hail of death, But we yield no yard of the ground we won, Till the last man yields his breath.
We are few --- who should have been many here, And our ranks are thinning fast, But, by the Christ who died, for each boy who falls, We will take toll to the last.
We are fighting now for the folks at home, For the land from which we came, And we are hanging on, and fighting hard, And we are dying hard and game.
There are long quiet nights for gallant mates, Who have fought, and fighting fell, But for every one who has dropped his gun, There's a fresh Hun face in Hell.
Aye, this is the creed of the ANZAC men, The men with the hearts of gold, What we won from the foe, by the steel and the gun, By the steel and the gun we hold.
My Aunty June married Raymond Malcolm Pettigrew in NZ. I have traced the Pettigrew family back to the Malcolmwood farm - and find this touching to know it was written by one of their family. Thank you for adding this to the web for all to share
A friend, who recently passed away, introduced me to poems about the Anzac soldiers and I feel this should be included on the website honoring them. A very touching and thoughtful work. Maybe you can get this added to the other works on this site - http://www.anzacs.net/
I have been posting this poem on the Internet for twenty years so I presume it is well known. It was found among the possesions of my Uncle Willie, from Malcolmwood Farm at High Blantyre in Lanarkshire Scotland, after he was killed at Passchendaele in 1917 when serving with the Australian Imperial Forces having signed up when visiting his uncle's farm in Australia. We can never be certain that he wrote it but here it is....
ReplyDeleteWilliam Pettigrew: The ANZAC poem
Now, this is the creed of the ANZAC men,
The men with the hearts of gold,
What we won from the foe, by the steel and the gun,
By the steel and the gun we hold.
From the heights afar, and the sky above,
There may come the hail of death,
But we yield no yard of the ground we won,
Till the last man yields his breath.
We are few --- who should have been many here,
And our ranks are thinning fast,
But, by the Christ who died, for each boy who falls,
We will take toll to the last.
We are fighting now for the folks at home,
For the land from which we came,
And we are hanging on, and fighting hard,
And we are dying hard and game.
There are long quiet nights for gallant mates,
Who have fought, and fighting fell,
But for every one who has dropped his gun,
There's a fresh Hun face in Hell.
Aye, this is the creed of the ANZAC men,
The men with the hearts of gold,
What we won from the foe, by the steel and the gun,
By the steel and the gun we hold.
Pte. William Pettigrew [21.5.1887---21.9.1917]
My Aunty June married Raymond Malcolm Pettigrew in NZ. I have traced the Pettigrew family back to the Malcolmwood farm - and find this touching to know it was written by one of their family. Thank you for adding this to the web for all to share
DeleteA friend, who recently passed away, introduced me to poems about the Anzac soldiers and I feel this should be included on the website honoring them. A very touching and thoughtful work. Maybe you can get this added to the other works on this site - http://www.anzacs.net/
ReplyDelete