In the quiet graveyard at the back of the Church is a memorial to four cockle boat men who took a boat called The Endeavour over to France to evacuate men off the Dunkirk beaches. Cockle boats were invaluable as they had shallow drafts and could get close to the shore and ferried out nearly 1,000 men out to the larger boats. After successfully completing this mission, Endeavour hit a mine on its journey home and lost all hands.
Today I am remembering, Frank Osborne, Lukie Osborne, Harry Noakes and Harold Porter.
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home,
They have no lot in labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
3 comments:
Thankyou so much for that. I had heard of the 4 gallant gentlemen but was unaware of the memorial to them.
So many individual lives, so many stories, its lovely to hear one I hadn't heard before.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. x
Such a poignant post. There are so many stories like this of the 'quiet heros'. So important to remember.
Post a Comment