![Text Box: For thee, dear Natïve Land, for Thee
We Yearn, we Pray, we Hope, we Wake.
For thee we Yield our Best, our All,
Nor count it Loss For thy Dear Sake.
O! strong are the waters that guard our isle,
And brave are the hearts that roam,
To fight for the flag with its honoured crest,
The banner of freedom, the sign of the blest,
The pride of our Empire home.
With Kind
Thoughts and Good Wishes
For Christmas
And the coming year
From
Mr. D. J. Thomas
H.M. Submarine G7 c/o G.P.O., London](lad3_files/image001.gif)
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§Christmas
1918, The card printed for the Thomas family and never posted§
§§§§§
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§The
Unicorn, Dundee Docks, Scotland – My mother took me to the Memorial
Services which were held aboard the main deck of this 19th
Century frigate, which we always called by her World War II name, “Cressy”
almost every year on Armistice Day to honor the memory of her father,
David James Thomas. Now I can understand how she was also mourning the
loss of the relationship she never had with her father who died when she
was less than a year old. I cannot remember my Grandmother ever coming
with us. I remember also hymns of sacrifice – Eternal Father Strong to
Save, Abide With Me, The Lord Is My Shepherd – on waters that flowed into
the cruel North Sea where my grandfather died.§ |