It was just before dawn one miserable morning in black forty-four
When the foreward commander was told to sit tight,
When they asked that his men be withdrawn
And the generals gave thanks, as the other ranks
Held back the enemy tanks for a while
And the Anzio Bridgehead was held for the price
Of a few hundred ordinary lives
And kind old King George sent Mother a note when
he heard that Father was gone
It was, I recall, in the form of a scroll with gold leaf and all
And I found it one day in a drawer of old photographs hidden away
And my eyes still grow damp to remember
His Majesty signed with his own rubber stamp
It was dark all around, there was frost on the ground
When the Tigers broke free
And no-one survived from the Royal Fusiliers, Company "C"
They were all left behind, most of them dead - the rest of them dying
And that's how the high command took my daddy from me