A Legend was Born

On the 25th of April that fateful beach they stormed,

The Turks was well prepared so it was like hell had yawned.

The Anzac’s worked up the ridges with an endless bloody fight,

With acts of valour and heroism becoming common sights.

With nowhere to hide and the sea at their backs the Diggers made their stand,

With rifle, bayonet they fought with some vicious hand to hand.

Gallipoli was a disaster and a terrible waste of life,

Them bloody politicians how did they sleep at night?

But a legend was born and the World saw how well the Anzacs could fight!

For the Diggers

The distant Ranges shaded in blue and green,

Is an amazing sight to be seen.

The stars above come alive at night,

Wonderful constellations showing their might.

This beautiful big Country is proud and free,

I cannot describe in words what this freedom means to me.

Our forefathers and heroes that gave the most,

It’s the Aussies like that, that put a tear in my eye when I hear the Last Post.

These unselfish souls with love and hearts so great,

Gave us the Great Country we have today, so let's not forget them mate.

The Somme

His best mate lifted his head up and said, "No mate, not like this, not in this foreign land."

He looked into his friends eyes, "You will have to win this war without me, ‘Cos it is now my time to die."

"I will watch over you from heaven with the angels in the sky."

His rifle slipped from his grip his strength was going fast,

So with a concentrated breath he paused to speak, ‘cos he knew he couldn’t last,

"When you get home tell the politicians not to make decisions with such haste."

"Cos if they seen the carnage we’ve seen here, they would see it’s just a waste."

"That General bloody Haig, he could never have been so wrong."

"No wonder they have nicknamed him the Butcher of the Somme."

His mate cut in, "Why did you do it Jack, that bullet was meant for me?"

"You have a wife and young ones mate, I am alone I have but one friend and that makes you family."

"And when I get to heavens door and at St Peter’s gate."

"I will tell him with no regrets, I did it for a mate."

With these parting words, Jack closed his eyes to fate.

Kevin J Newton

Tobruk

Our Diggers fought and made a stand.

Never before had a Blitzkrieg been stopped,

The German Generals must have been shocked.

With captured armour and Italian guns,

They became legends in the North African sun.

Bravely holding the Port from their holes in the ground,

For over nine months Rommel attacked and continued to pound.

Against Rommel’s army with all its might,

The Desert Rats of Tobruk held tight.

Kevin J Newton.

The Battle of El Alamein

The big push was coming and big ‘twas to the battle of El Alamein.

The 9th Australian Division was there which was part of Monty’s 8th Army,

With nothing to do I bet those Diggers drove the pommy officers balmy.

The Siege of Tobruk, which lasted nine months,

Gave the Allies valuable time, their armour to build up.

It was now getting on in Forty-two,

So it was ripe for the break through.

Well can you imagine 880 cannons with their blasting sound,

Their commencement was the start of the battle I bet they shook the ground.

The 9th Division held the northern coastal flank,

Where the Diggers fought hard against Rommel’s tanks.

Then one night the Diggers broke the enemy’s line,

The Australians had captured from the Afrika Korps, Trig 29.

Rommel launched counter attacks more than twenty times,

Held again and again by our brave Diggers, refusing to give to their lines.

It was valuable to both sides and was important ground,

With excellent views of the battlefield could be seen for miles around.

On the night of October 29th the 2/23rd Battalion a little further down the track,

On the back of British tanks our Diggers did attack.

Was to take a Railway, but then the plan became frayed,

‘Cos into a minefield the British tanks had strayed.

Then the enemy opened up with their anti-tank guns,

Our poor Diggers where caught with nowhere to run.

As the sun come up at dawn it revealed a dreadful sight,

The 2/23rd Battalion suffered two hundred casualties that night.

The next assault was on the 30th to the North and was met with success,

Not like the night before which was such a god-awful mess.

The Diggers had cut off the road to the Railway Station.

Now Rommel had army trapped, which put the Diggers in a situation,

This area became known as the saucer, with the Grim Reapers scythe doing over-time,

With the bitterest of fighting and many a good man dying on the line.

There were three major battles to El Alamein in Nineteen Forty-two,

The Australians taking Trig 29 was the turning point, which allowed the Allies to break through.

Churchill, General Montgomery and other British Commanders agreed how victory wouldn’t have been possible without Australians on the line,

Of how the 9th Division held, took ground and never gave up at any point in time.

With men like Gratwick, Kibby and Gurney who add to the ANZAC legend that’s been made,

Their Victoria Crosses for bravery were posthumously laid.

The victory did not come easily and now it must be said,

That the 1,200 Heroes that never came are forever mourned war dead.

Kevin J Newton.

Kokoda

Unselfishly answered our Country’s plight.

In the jungles of New Guinea to north of our land,

They tenaciously fought with the men of Nippon from Japan.

On the Kokoda Track that crosses the Owen Stanley Ranges,

Our brave Diggers fought and died in a battle that brought on many changes.

In the rain drenched jungle with mud often knee deep,

They had to keep fit and strong and vigilant in their sleep.

With help from the Fuzzy Wuzzy angels at every stage,

Who will always be remembered in Australia’s History page.

To those that held the line above all costs,

Australians will always remember you with great loss.

Kevin J Newton.

Long Tan

The year was 1966 the day August Eighteen.

The men of D Company patrolled a village called Long Tan.

They were from the Australian Base, Nui Dat, part of the 6th RAR in South Vietnam.

They found themselves in contact with 2,500 Vietcong, with machine-gun, mortar fire the enemy mercilessly did pound.

With reinforcements on their way they had to hold tight, so the Diggers bravely stood their ground.

For over three hours the 125 men of D Company fought a battle into history, in the monsoonal twilight.

They fought just like the Diggers before them, tenaciously and with might.

Artillery saved them twice from being over run.

Thank god for mates that lend a hand, the men on Nui Dats big guns.

Finally when help did arrive only then did the Vietcong retreat.

Our wounded lay hidden in the undergrowth; they watched the Vietcong take their casualties away, from their silent seat.

So all-night our wounded lay hidden with their quiet fears.

‘Cos till morn they heard the enemy moving around detected with their ears.

As daylight broke on Long Tan the new day had revealed.

The battle for Long Tan was a great victory, in Australia’s History it is forever sealed.

Two hundred and forty five Vietcong lay dead.

Just as many had been taken away during the night it is said.

To the seventeen brave Diggers, who unselfishly gave the most.

You will never be forgotten, especially when they play the last post.

Kevin J Newton.

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