2015 marks the Centenary of the ill fated allied invasion of Gallipoli in which almost 600,000 Allies and Turkish soldiers were killed. Included in the British Forces were the men who formed 1/6th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers. These men were drawn mainly from Bury, Heywood, Middleton, Rochdale, Todmorden and what is today Greater Manchester. It is to the memory of the men of both sides and the recognition of their sacrifice this blog and the Reading The Century events have been facilitated by the Rochdale Co-operative Members Volunteer Group.
Local Area Roll of Honour

A Wounded Heart

How can she bear to be with me?
I’m cruel, I’m distant, I’m broken
the shell of the man I was before I went to war
the kiss of her lips. The feel of her skin
I’m numb just a man now devoid of any emotion
waking up thrashing drenched in sweat
Oh God, The cold. The wet. The screams.
the thud of a dead man hits the floor
flashbacks and nightmares
I can’t take it anymore
my mind won’t stop it’s on reload, its on repeat
the crack of a gun and you could be done
death and pain, loss with no gain
my tortured mind makes me blind to the world around
shallow graves, rotting flesh with no shelter from the pain
here and now I’m ashamed to say
I’m ruined from that evil day.

For all the men that survived
For all the men that died
Gallipoli 25/04/1915.

© Samantha Harrington
March 2015.
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