AND SO, IT BEGAN

England had joined WW II, War declared against Germany All men and women of the age Required for conscription, joined, Bravery had to be shown, Even cowards could not decline. Trembling they stood in line. Excitement, fear, yet only teenagers, Adrenaline, anxiety, eagerness, These emotions all felt by each Soldier to be, What would I do, I guess like my dad, I would join, for that would be me! At eighteen, my father felt like a man, Prepared to do what he could And unbeknown to him then, what he would. Alan Hunt, yes, that was him, I am afraid it says on your records, You have flat feet, lucky you, You are exempt, next please, Oh no, said my dad, I want to fight, With all my heart soul and mind, I want to do what I know is right, All my friends have joined, I don’t want to be left behind, I want to enlist Please Sir, flat feet or not, I insist. Off went the Sergeant to speak To his officer, We need all the men we can get, So yes, let Him enlist, but not as a foot soldier So assigned to the Tanks was Young Alan Hunt, And without further ado, Became a soldier, And sent to the front. To Italy and Northern Africa Was Private Hunt assigned, In the Sahara Desert, in Egypt, And Sudan, all allies of the Nazis, He and his small troop Who were not afraid, fought, And thank God, never got caught, Or imprisoned, what a horror, That would have been, but something Of great interest happened one day, What I say, Is the truth, straight from the horse’s mouth, They were bombed in error From their own planes and from 4, That could fit in a tank, another 15 Jumped in, and 19 came out. All safe and sound. My dad said he needed a drink, For all were on the brink Of death, but it wasn’t their time, Otherwise, I would not be Writing this rhyme. The British troops were ordered to liberate Greece, which they did On October 12th 1944, And who was amongst them, But my dad, Although wars are bad, Good came of this frightful event, It was surely Heaven sent, For at a huge party my grandfather gave For the British boys, What joys, My dad met and fell in love With a beautiful Greek girl, A swirl Of a romance, they got married, Stayed in Greece for a while, lived In Cyprus and England and next Moved to Rhodesia in 1957, When I was three, Then Zambia, and finally to South Africa, My beloved country, My grand-daughter is now almost three.