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

Infinity

I saw you once, and I made the sign.
Before you spoke, before you smiled,
before we touched, or lay, or kissed,
just a curve of the finger, a touch of the thumb
concentric, conjoined.
Secret circles behind my back
an infinity sign. It looks nothing, means everything.
The ultimate unknowable.
Before Alpha, beyond Omega
passed the dark Sargasso sea.
More than the screams of bombs and guns,
where the devils dance on Gallipoli.
More than the rats, the rife disease
the torment of cold and dysentery.
You are my life, my only love,
I yearn beyond infinity.
Secretly, silently, curving fingers,
concentric circles touch, conjoin,
the prayer I hide behind my back,
however alive, come back to me.

© Eileen Earnshaw
April 2015.
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