Martin “Marty” Boyce

REDEMPTION – FROMELLES 1916

Their time had come, redemption near, a quiet field in France
Redemption for the blokes they left behind
Beneath the Turkish soil in a land now far away
Redemption for those blokes who had no chance

Their words were now but fleeting whispers heard across the field
Ghostly voices uttered faintly on the wind
Redemption for their brothers left behind across the seas
Embraced by one desire not to yield

At the whistle they are rising from their trenches to the foe
Across the quiet field they now advance
Into a storm of metal where no man would dare to tread
Ever onwards where no normal man would go

Their voices were but fleeting whispers heard in no mans land
As they carried off the wounded and the dead
Their mates who shared the deathly metal dance of modern war
As brothers those remaining proudly stand

Their voices are but fleeting whispers heard in no mans land
Ghostly whispers carried faintly on the wind

Author’s Note: Fromelles was the first engagement of significance for the Australian Troops on the western Front. For many of the ANZACS they saw it as a chance for redemption after the withdrawal from Gallipoli. Fromelles is now etched into the ANZAC legend, it was a slaughter on an immense scale: the Australian 5th Division was effectively incapacitated for many months afterwards. Australian casualties were estimated at 5,533 killed, wounded or taken prisoner. I have tried to tie in the theme of redemption with the horror of the battle and the whispered voices of the fallen that some say you can still hear on the battlefields.