It was just before dawn
One miserable morning in black 'forty four.
When the [bad word] 
Was told to sit tight
When he asked that his men be withdrawn.
And the Generals gave thanks
As the other ranks held back
The enemy tanks for a while.
And the Anzio bridgehead
Was held for the price
Of a few hundred ordinary lives.

And kind old King George
Sent Mother a note
When he heard that father was gone.
It was, I recall,
In the form of a scroll,
With gold leaf and all.
And I found it one day
In a drawer of old photographs, hidden away.
And my eyes still grow damp to remember
His Majesty signed
With his [bad word] stamp.

It was dark all around.
There was frost in the ground
When the tigers broke free.
And no one survived
From the Royal [bad word] C.
They were all left behind,
Most of them dead,
The rest of them dying.
And that's how the [bad word] 
Took my daddy from me.