21/02/2010

Poems and Politics Tommy – Rudyard Kipling

Listening to Elfyn Llwyd's speech to the Plaid Cymru conference on the plight of veterans reminded me of a poem published by Rudyard Kipling over 100 years ago called Tommy. The main refrain of the poem is that Tommy is a hero, a Saviour of 'is country when the guns begin to shoot, but when he is not fighting for Queen and Country he is seen as a right pain in the arse.

During my nursing career I cared for veterans from every conflict in the 20th century, from the Bore War to the second Gulf War. The patients' problems were many and varied, but all of them suffered from the underlying psychological difficulty of coping with the trauma of going from hero to zero.

Soldiers are cheered through the streets on march-pasts, given the freedom of the city, hailed in the tabloids, and then they are demobbed and become just ordinary blokes! That is traumatic in itself and is, of course, added to the traumas that these people have witnessed in the theatres of war.

In his coverage of the Plaid Conference yesterday Adrian Masters suggested that this is not the sort of issue that a nationalist party, like Plaid, might be likely to be seen supporting.

I disagree!

Wales has just under 5% of the UK population, but it has supplied between 8 and 10% of the UK's military personnel every year since at least 1911. There are few Welsh families without a close member who is serving or has served in the Armed Forces. Therefore the care of veterans is a Welsh issue and the care of Welsh vetrans is a nationalist issue, and I am pleased that Plaid has taken this issue on board.

That's the end of the rant. Here is the poem:

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!

16 comments:

  1. Lost your appetite for outing Oscar, Mr Humphreys?

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  2. No I was asked to remove the post because Oscar would stop blogging if he was named, which would be a shame as i quite enjoy his blog.

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  3. Did Oscar tell you that, Mr Humphreys?

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  4. Thanks slapping down the BBC "Wales" comment. Typical Brit Nat outlook by them. See also their inaccurate reporting of Sain Tathan, the anti-Gwynfor biography, that appalling John 'Labour' Stephenson.

    Did you see their 'Politics Show' interviews today? Biased attack dog against Ieuan Wyn Jones but purring like kitty with Huw Irranca Davies. The sooner they have proper competition here the better.

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  5. Did Oscar tell you that, Mr Humphreys?
    As I don't know who Oscar is, I couldn't possibly tell.

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  6. I think you ought to tell us a bit about yourself, on the same basis you felt we should learn about Oscar. We know you're a retired nurse living in Glan Conwy, interested in genealogy, and with a chronic medical condition. But let us know a bit about why you blog. It would be so nice to hear about your agenda.

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  7. Anonymous 16:40, you can think what you want, but why should Alwyn listen to that?

    Agenda? Does his blog postings aggravate you?

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  8. Anon 16:40. All I wanted to know about Oscar was his name, a request that I have since deleted. My name is on every posting that I make on my blog, I make no secret of where I live, my life experiences or my interests. I make no secret about my political leanings and affiliations (it would be a bit pointless on a political blog) and my reasons for bloging have been mentioned on my blogs on a number of occasions and noted in a post to the Welsh Bloggers site.

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  9. "Alwyn ap Huw", in inverted commas, brings up one hundred and five thousand hits on Google, I don't think that the boy's good at hiding his web presence - is he?

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  10. I don't think that the boy's good at hiding his web presence - is he?

    I don't understand the criticism, I have never attempted to hide my "web presence", unlike many a nonny commentator!

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  11. But your name isn't Alwyn ap Huw, is it?

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  12. It is not my full name, but it is the part of my name that I've been known by for the past 35 years. Not that it is of any relevance to this post - my full name is David Alwyn ap Huw Humphreys, again it is no secret.

    Is your name really Anonomous Troll?

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  13. "And search among the fallen soldiers` tales, upon every monument to war yet erected,
    But never once, no, not once, a politicians` name to be seen."

    Kipling probably realised that a war made fortunes for a minority, and sapped the unwitting blood of the middle and lower classes.....

    Going to war, as a *tommy*, on behalf of the *Britsh*, could be seen by Plaid as a political issue.
    Indeed, the military recruitment of teenagers from low-income families is certainly another topic that could be "aired"...

    However, putting aside the rights and wrongs of war, if former personnel need medical assistance, then who would deny it to them?
    But the costs of care and treatment are high... might be best carried by the army they have served, not by the already impoverished communities from whence the youngsters came.

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  14. But the costs of care and treatment are high... might be best carried by the army they have served, not by the already impoverished communities from whence the youngsters came.

    You make an important point Landsker, which isn't easily answered.

    One of the problems of enabling ex-forces personnel to reintegrate into civilian society is "institutionalisation", if the army remained responsible for all after-care for ex-soldiers then that link between the forces and the person might never be broken, which could make problems worse rather than better. On the other hand the forces just casting people adrift at the end of their service is part of the problem. Perhaps a compromise situation is needed where personnel are "weaned off" forces dependency gradually. Say the forces being totally responsible for after-care at discharge and that responsibility being reduced over a perriod of 1, 3, 5 years?

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  15. Landsker said...
    "And search among the fallen soldiers` tales, upon every monument to war yet erected,
    But never once, no, not once, a politicians` name to be seen."


    In fairness, it should be noted that there is a War Memorial in Westminster Hall dedicated to the Members and Officers of both Houses of Parliament who died in the two World Wars:

    TO THE / MEMBERS AND OFFICERS / OF BOTH HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT / AND THE / SONS OF MEMBERS AND OFFICERS / OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS / WHO IN THE GREAT WAR / CONSUMMATED WITH THEIR LIVES THE / TRADITION OF PUBLIC SERVICE / IN THE CAUSE OF RIGHT

    Followed by a large number of names.

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  16. Hello,
    I`d not heard of the memorial for parliamentarians, so I`ll stand corrected, but don`t think any politicians have served and fallen in the last few decades.

    As for a solution to the problems of former soldiers...maybe inviting those very same people to define and shape their own care and treatment.
    Some of the soldiers never fully recover, and will need financial and medical support throughout their lives, which ultimately will flow from the public purse.
    It does seem that the military indeed "casts them adrift", but then compassion and warfare are hardly ever going to be compatible.

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