On 1 September 1939
Germany crossed the Poland line
On 3 September Britain was at war
Just like 25 years before
Dame Vera Lynn sang about the White Cliffs of Dover
And hoping the Nightingales returned to Berkeley Square
And We Would Meet Again when the war was over
While rationing was brought in for all, including food
Glenn Miller was in the Mood and loved his String of Pearls
The Navy, RAF and The Land Girls
The Enigma broke the German codes in Bletchley Park
Church bells stopped ringing, black out blinds were used to make it pitch dark
The Allies took on Hitler, while he attacked
In his favour the odds were stacked

The children with gas masks in boxes were put on trains
To be evacuated from London, the bombs, Doodlebugs and planes
When they arrived and the siren sounded
To air raid shelters and tube stations people bounded
In the Blitz, St Pauls and Buckingham Palace were hit
But the Royal Family weren’t abandoning it
In London they decided to stay
Sticking together with the public, night and day
Women took over the mens work and home life
It was hard for a husband returning to his wife

Soldiers were cold and ill in the trenches and the damp
Every letter home had the Censored stamp
In Normandy, the Allies advanced
Who would have through it would end on the beaches in France
Churchill finally had his Finest Hour
By taking away France’s power
There was bunting, street parties, singing Knees Up Mother Brown
No way was anyone keeping England down

World War II ended 6 June 1944
WWI was the war to end all wars
This was not true – we’ve had others too
All the world pulling together, muddling through
On Armistice Day a Memorial Service at the Cenotaph and Royal Albert Hall
And from the ceiling each life represented by the petals of poppies that fall