THE SILENT SERVICE
(Dedicated to the Merchant Navy.) A r o! It isn't in the papers, and you do not always know Where to find the D.E.M.S.; you just address them care C.P.O. For to-day you can't be certain ivhcrc to-morrow they will he, l For yesterday they were "somewhere" and the day before "at sea."
You have seen him in the street, rolling groggy on his feet, You have seen him grab the pavement for support, You have seen him arm-in-arm ivith a dame of doubtful charm. Who was steering Johnny safely in to port.
You shudder in disgust, as, dead drunk, he hits the dust, You scorn him when you sec him on the spree. But you never see the trip on that dark and lonely ship. Ploughing furrows through a mineinfested sea.
He has brought the old tramp home through a mine-infested zone, He has braved the Channel with the boys for France, He fights the lurking Hun, with a four-point-seven gun. Yet you don't consider that he takes a chance.
For him no flays you wave, He's not thought of with the brave, But he'll help to beat old Adolph just the same. [D.E.M.S. — Defensively equipped merchant ships.]
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Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 168, 18 July 1942, Page 8
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202THE SILENT SERVICE Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 168, 18 July 1942, Page 8
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