Poem - Emily 'Beryl' Henson

A poem was written in 1917 by a soldier in the Black Watch - R. Marshall

Dedicated to our sister

By R. Marshall of the Black Watch

(Dedicated to Emily 'Beryl' Henson – Australian Nurse)

A rhyme, I crave, my thanks to express,

As one who came under your care,

A finer nurse, your name I will bless

In days that will follow, Apri La Guere.

Your missions are all deeds of mercy

In the hospital ward, or the field,

To succour some fallen young hero,

And from pain some brave warrior shield.

We know that it is your sole mission

To give some poor sufferer relief:

We respect your devotion to duty

Your endurance, we cannot conceive.

You come to his bedside at midnight

To give some prescribed remedy;

Or to write down his last dying message

To some loved one, far over the sea.

Or perhaps, just a drink of cold water

Or perhaps just a stroke of the head

O’er the brow of some wounded soldier

About to depart from this land.

A poor mother’s heart will feel lighter

When she knowns that her son’s in your care,

And babes when they kneel at their bedside,

A blessing they ask for you there.

We speak of your actions with reverence,

Your deeds they are more than sublime.

Your benevolence will ne’er be forgotten,

Your biography last for all time.

With bullet-holes, fractures or fevers,

All day long you have to contend,

Each battle fought brings you more patients

Of the wounded, there seems not an end.

You may hear some delirious ravings,

And some for the Hun have a curse,

But believe me, my dear Sister Henson,

I’ll bless you, my Red Cross Nurse.