April Poem of the Month: The Foresters

They’re tramping through the forests,
They’re trudging through the mire,
They’re brushing past the undergrowth,
They have but one desire,
Their greatest thought, their highest aim,
To see, in England, Peace again.

They have no tanks or rifles,
They have no stripes or drill,
They have no ships or aeroplanes,
But England needs them still,
They’re fighting hard with axe and saw,
They’re Britain’s Women Timber Corps.

They’re proud of their profession,
Bad weather does not count,
They bring the tall trees crashing down,
The piles of pit props mount.
They’re doing their bit to win the war,
This almost unknown Timber Corps.

By J Melvin, published in Meet the Members, 1944.