208604 Pte. George Wright British Army 10th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers from:30 Orchard Row, Londonderry (d.1st Jul 1916) Pte George Wright of the 10th Battalion Royal Inniskillen Fusiliers was killed in action on the 1st of July 1916. His name is listed on the Thiepval Memorial to the missing, Somme, France. He joined the Derrys on the formation of the Ulster Division with his brother Pte Thomas Wright formerly of the 5th Inniskillings.
The following poem was returned to Londonderry by a wounded soldier and was written by one of the lads from the fountain.
At the Field Hospital:
Come closer Bill, old comrade. I’m glad to have you here,
It does not seem to hard to die, when one we love is near.
For as kids we played together,â€shot marbles on the wallsâ€,
And as youths in the good old Brandywell, we used to kick the ball.
You’ll tell them in the dear old town, old Derry on the Foyle,
That the boys who drilled with “wooden†guns, were worthy of their soil.
But you’ll hardly need to tell them, e’re now the world has heard,
What the hardy sons of Ulster for their King and Country dared.
How, when ordered from the trenches, by just that one wordâ€GOâ€,
With the war cry “No Surrender†they quickly found the foe.
And onward dashed from trench to trench, as streams the rushing tide,
The Fountain, Dark Lane, Rosemount and the lads from Waterside.
Went onward, ever onward, their progress none could stay,
They weren’t out goose-stepping nor singing Dolly’s Brae.
But to clear the earth of those we hate- Lord how the Germans ran,
They hadn’t time to wait and see, like at Omagh and Strabane.
It may be someone blundered, the fault might have been our own,
But when we reached Trench number 5, we found ourselves alone.
Alone and unsupported, amidst a withering fire,
Yet we held our winnings gamely, ‘til the order came “Retireâ€,
I cannot, nor will any man, the story ever tell,
How caught in that triangle, it seemed the mouth of hell,
With comrades falling falling, we formed as on parade,
“You’ll fight a rearguard action†was all our leaders said.
And in that rearguard action Bill, I got the knockout blow,
And now I’ve got to travel, the road that all must go.
When lying faint, from loss of blood, I heard a brother’s call,
“We cannot leave him here to die, where one goes, we allâ€.
It was a chap from Monaghan, a loyal man and true,
He swung me cross his shoulders, and said “I’ll see you throughâ€,
“Right mateyâ€?, then another said, “where one goes, we allâ€.
I’ll help you brother Ulsterman, I’m County Donegal.
The Ulsters fought the rearguard, with many a hearty cheer,
And the next thing I remember, I was being patched up here.
But I know this efforts useless, I feel I’m going fast,
I see the new day breaking , for me, t’will be the last.
I’ll ne’er again sit on the wall, of an evening calm and cool,
To watch the youngsters playing Tig, around First Derry School.
I thought of Derry’s Walls Away, when joining in the fight,
I said it was for Ulster, I wanted Right, Left, Right.
So tell them in the dear old town, auld Derry on the Foyle,
That the men who guarded Ireland’s shore, sleep ‘neath a foreign soil,
And when the news of victory comes, and the Cathedral joybells ring,
They’ll raise a stone for those who fell, for Country and for King.
Published in The Derry Sentinel on Saturday 15th July 1916.
What makes this poem so poignant is that the Typesetter on the Sentinel, and the man who no doubt set up the page for print, was none other than Thomas Wright, Father of Pte George Wright who died only 14 days before at the Somme.
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