{"id":1441,"date":"2022-11-10T02:13:06","date_gmt":"2022-11-10T02:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coffscoastheritage.info\/?p=1441"},"modified":"2022-11-10T21:12:29","modified_gmt":"2022-11-10T21:12:29","slug":"remembering-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.coffscoastheritage.info\/2022\/11\/remembering-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering them"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Peter Coverdale, 2nd 31st Battalion, https:\/\/2nd31stbattalion.wordpress.com\/2019\/04\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The stories entrusted to a Museum’s collection are held for sharing, but they don’t always immediately come to light due to regretful resourcing (space, people) constraints. Discoveries in the collection can then be serendipitous – a confluence of timing, or the result of a request for information. And when resources do become available, reviewing a backlog may also find a moving example such as this.<\/p>\n

On the way up to our present camp we met up with some of our Battalion just out of the lines. Cpl Alan Kay, one of our crowd, has just made up these verses<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Returned<\/span>“<\/p>\n

We had stopped along the mule track to have a spot of tea,\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Just Reos going up to join our Company.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 We were biting into biscuits which were on the bill of fare.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 When their trucks pulled in behind us – you could see that they’d been “there”.<\/p>\n

You could see that they’d been through it by the lustre of their eyes\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0And the horros they had witnessed would be hard to realize,\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Dirty and unshaven with their clothes all torn & tattered,\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The fever was within them, their hair was thick and matted.<\/p>\n

[disrespectful content removed]<\/p>\n

Men of the 31st Battalion with their circle black & red\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Have won glory in many battles & scent there’s more ahead.<\/p>\n

* reinforcements<\/p>\n

Found in a collation of poetry written by Peter Coverdale<\/a> 1942 – 1959 – 1963\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Here is part of the verse which “Peter the Poet” himself wrote,\u00a0 with typing quirks, during November 1944:<\/p>\n

Civvie Street<\/p>\n

I’ve taken off the Kahki, that I’ve worn five years or so,\u00a0I’ve hung my old slouch hat up in the hall,<\/p>\n

The colour patch and badges that I once so proudly wore,\u00a0\u00a0They now adorn a pennant on the wall,<\/p>\n

And instead of service rifle, my hands now hold the plough,\u00a0And I ride my horse, to fetch the cattle home<\/p>\n

And my kiddies play around me, and my wife is by my side,\u00a0And I’m thankful that no more, I’ve got to roam,<\/p>\n

I sometimes miss the army, and the mates I used to know,\u00a0Those hectic times, in many a varied place,<\/p>\n

And Civvie clothes and civvy ways\u00a0still seem a trifle queer,\u00a0These Civvies seem to me a different race.<\/p>\n

But I guess I’ll get accustomed to the joys of civvie street, My army days will grow dim with time,<\/p>\n

I’ll forget about the hardships and the miserys we had.\u00a0The jungle mud and horros of the line, But old mates I’ll still remember, and the happy scenes will stay,<\/p>\n

Especially when I read my book of verse, That I wrote just as a hobby, to fill in odd idle hours, Instead of playing swi or something worse,<\/p>\n

As it wasn’t penned for the ladies but for soldiers of the line, I’m afreaid a word or too is not polite,<\/p>\n

But my book brought lots of pleasure to old tent mates that I had, They often made me read by lantern light.<\/p>\n

And though its only gingle, without polish, grammer, wit,\u00a0It still recalls to me, eventful days,<\/p>\n

But my rhyming is now finished and I’m laying down my pen, For I’m starting off in brand new Civvie ways.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Peter wrote poetry for the Korora View<\/em>. The Museum has not seen copies of this publication. Information on its whereabouts would be welcome.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The stories entrusted to a Museum’s collection are held for sharing, but they don’t always immediately come to light due to regretful resourcing (space, people) constraints. Discoveries in the collection can then be serendipitous – a confluence of timing, or the result of a request for information. And when resources do become available, reviewing a … Continue reading “Remembering them”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coffscoastheritage.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1441"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coffscoastheritage.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coffscoastheritage.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coffscoastheritage.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coffscoastheritage.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1441"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.coffscoastheritage.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1448,"href":"https:\/\/www.coffscoastheritage.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1441\/revisions\/1448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coffscoastheritage.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coffscoastheritage.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coffscoastheritage.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}