The push for Aubers Ridge had been postponed
because of rain. But the Saturday
was dry and sunny. Going up the line
in the early evening, the battalion
stood easy at the shrine to Our Lady.
‘…in remissionem peccatorum…’
By noon, next day, nearly half were dead,
caught on the German wire Haig’s ill equipped
artillery had, once more, failed to cut.
In Mazingarbe, an industrial town
ten miles south, the British commandeered
the abattoir. The first to be shot at dawn
was a Munster regular from Cork.
‘…in nomine Patris…’
Note: The poem was first published on the site in November 2012.
Pages:
By David Selzer
