A husband and wife in the town of Athlone
Awaited a child of their very own
Be it a daughter or be it a son
In the year of 1941.
A bonnie girl she turned out to be
They named her Bernadette
A lovely cuddly little child
Her presence you could not forget
She grew up quickly, with sisters five
Tho’ all with different dreams
And also a couple of brothers
A total family of eight it seems
Then Berni’ came to Basildon
A colleen from the Emerald Isle
With flowing hair and a twinkling eye
And a great big Irish smile
She bore no malice and could not hate
A saint in name and nature too
For this was always evident
To the galaxy of friends she knew.
The years then passed to ’64
And CUPID was there, bow and arrow,
When Bernadette wed Jeffery
Her wonderful “Para” from Harrow.
A year or so on and young Paul came along
Mum and Dad enjoyed pushing his pram
But neither imagined their Tank Driving son for a soldier
Much less their very own ‘Fireman Sam’
Well the “Lad” later had two children himself
So guess who was their greatest fan
Was it Jeffery who was their Grandad
Or Berni’ their dear loving Nan.
But alas she is no longer with them
Tho’ I know they will never forget
From the Green Erin Isle
With her big Irish smile
Their very own Darling BERNADETTE