A long time ago Sammy Holman whose father served on the King George V sent me the following poem that was printed aboard the British battleship.
THE SINKING OF THE "BISMARCK"
The "Bismarck" is unsinkable,
That was Hitler's cry,
But he never thought about the day
She would meet the "K.G.V".
I will never forget that morning,
On the twenty-seventh of May,
For the boys onboard our warship
Each played his part that day.
At nine-o'clock on Tuesday,
When we avenged the "Hood",
And sunk that German Battleship,
As only British Sailors could.
For salvo after salvo,
We let her have it strong,
And knew her crew, like Germans,
Would not stick it long.
The going was too strong for them,
We knew that all too well,
So we let them have a broadside,
And blew them into Hell.
Survivors were a hundred,
That is ninety nine too many,
If the boys could have had a say in it,
I doubt if there'd be any!!
So we have got our vengeance,
For the sinking of the "Hood",
And the "Bismarck" lies beneath the sea,
Where all those square heads should.
F. J. Kelly.
British Poem: "The Sinking of the Bismarck"
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- José M. Rico
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Hi Jose,
I'm a combat infantry veteran of World War II, and I fought the Germans on the battlefields of France in 1944, so I can fully understand and appreciate the feeling expressed in the poem.
Times have changed, and after a few short years, the Germans became our allies in the Cold War against Soviet expansion in Europe. I was in the front lines in that Cold War, serving as a civilian engineer at U.S. Army Europe Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany from 1964-1969. I worked with the Germans in maintaining our tanks and other combat equipment in a high state of operational readiness in case of a Soviet attack.
The poem makes for a nice souvenir of the war, but I don't believe that it has any place being posted on this forum where we honor our former foes, such as the Baron and other Bismarck survivors, as honorable men who only did their duty faithfully even though it was in support of an evil regime.
Sincerely,
Bob
I'm a combat infantry veteran of World War II, and I fought the Germans on the battlefields of France in 1944, so I can fully understand and appreciate the feeling expressed in the poem.
Times have changed, and after a few short years, the Germans became our allies in the Cold War against Soviet expansion in Europe. I was in the front lines in that Cold War, serving as a civilian engineer at U.S. Army Europe Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany from 1964-1969. I worked with the Germans in maintaining our tanks and other combat equipment in a high state of operational readiness in case of a Soviet attack.
The poem makes for a nice souvenir of the war, but I don't believe that it has any place being posted on this forum where we honor our former foes, such as the Baron and other Bismarck survivors, as honorable men who only did their duty faithfully even though it was in support of an evil regime.
Sincerely,
Bob
- José M. Rico
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I totally agree. Ulrich told me more or less the same thing. If I posted that poem here it was not with the intention to raise old wartime resentment in any way, but merely to present it as "a souvenir of the war" like you put it.Robert J. Winklareth wrote:The poem makes for a nice souvenir of the war, but I don't believe that it has any place being posted on this forum where we honor our former foes, such as the Baron and other Bismarck survivors, as honorable men who only did their duty faithfully even though it was in support of an evil regime.
By the way, I didn't know you were a WWII veteran. Did you actually see combat in France?
Best regards,
José
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Hi Jose,
I accept your explanation, but I am still uncomfortable about the posting.
Yes, I did see combat in France during World War II. I joined the 79th Infantry Division as an infantry replacement in October 1944 and I participated in the U.S. Seventh Army offensive through Alsace to the Rhine River in November and December. Our division with the French 2nd Armored Division captured Strasbourg on the Rhine around Thanksgiving Day. I was wounded in action and evacuated back to the States in January 1945.
Thanks for your interest.
Bob
I accept your explanation, but I am still uncomfortable about the posting.
Yes, I did see combat in France during World War II. I joined the 79th Infantry Division as an infantry replacement in October 1944 and I participated in the U.S. Seventh Army offensive through Alsace to the Rhine River in November and December. Our division with the French 2nd Armored Division captured Strasbourg on the Rhine around Thanksgiving Day. I was wounded in action and evacuated back to the States in January 1945.
Thanks for your interest.
Bob
hi jose,,, i understand you posting this poem,,as a war item and the feelings in the poem are understandable,,,,I am uneasy with it....Soldiers , saliors and airmen are just humans like everyone else they get angry,scared,happy,and sad.and with time hopefully lose the anger.
Jose, I spent 3 years as a sniper with the Australian Army. and i can say that no sane man that has ever seen combat wants to remember the anger and fear and there own thoughts at the time,yes the poem is a insight to the thinking of the british saliors at the time.But some things are better left in the past.
there is no glory in the death of our fellow man.
I'm not trying to upset you or bag you mate.
Jose, I spent 3 years as a sniper with the Australian Army. and i can say that no sane man that has ever seen combat wants to remember the anger and fear and there own thoughts at the time,yes the poem is a insight to the thinking of the british saliors at the time.But some things are better left in the past.
there is no glory in the death of our fellow man.
I'm not trying to upset you or bag you mate.
- paulcadogan
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Here are my two cents on this one...
This poem does have some value as a historical document, despite its sentiments that may be unsavoury to us today and I appreciate being given the chance to read it. It gives an insight into the depth of feelings against one's enemies in a time of war - faceless enemies who may be branded as less than human, so you don't feel repentant or remorseful about maiming or killing them.
It also underlines how traumatic Hood's loss was to the British Navy - particulary for an individual who may have had friends go down with her.
I would like to think that the author, had he been in a position to rescue survivors, would not have hesitated to extend a hand to pull a helpless enemy seaman from the water - as at that point, the enemy is no longer faceless or sub-human. I would also like to think that if he is still alive today, he would regret his negative sentiments, but maybe explain having written them at the time as a "morale booster".
Sailing away and leaving hundreds of men in the water to die, as Dorsetshire and Maori did, can also be traumatic so again branding them as evil doers, deserving of death could be a defense mechanism too.
But it goes to show - be careful what you put on the record when emotions are high......
Paul
This poem does have some value as a historical document, despite its sentiments that may be unsavoury to us today and I appreciate being given the chance to read it. It gives an insight into the depth of feelings against one's enemies in a time of war - faceless enemies who may be branded as less than human, so you don't feel repentant or remorseful about maiming or killing them.
It also underlines how traumatic Hood's loss was to the British Navy - particulary for an individual who may have had friends go down with her.
I would like to think that the author, had he been in a position to rescue survivors, would not have hesitated to extend a hand to pull a helpless enemy seaman from the water - as at that point, the enemy is no longer faceless or sub-human. I would also like to think that if he is still alive today, he would regret his negative sentiments, but maybe explain having written them at the time as a "morale booster".
Sailing away and leaving hundreds of men in the water to die, as Dorsetshire and Maori did, can also be traumatic so again branding them as evil doers, deserving of death could be a defense mechanism too.
But it goes to show - be careful what you put on the record when emotions are high......
Paul
Qui invidet minor est - He who envies is the lesser man
Re: British Poem: "The Sinking of the Bismarck"
The man who wrote this was my Grandfather, his name was Frances James Kelly, my Mother has often told us about this poem and how they had the poem engraved on a plaque and hung on the King George V ship.