202
THE YPRES TIMES
By Lieut.-Col. Graham Seton Hutchison, D.S.O., M.C.
(Author of Footslogger," Warrior," The W Plan," etc.)
The mission of the British Race is not yet ended.
AN AFFIRMATION.
WE, men and women, old and young, who have before our eyes Britain's
beauteous landscapethe blue haze of its valleys, the verdant green of
its pastures, the spring gold of its moorland gorse, the rolling downs
dotted with sheep, the heathered hills, the deep silent woods carpeted with blue
bells or tinted with russet of Autumn loveliness
WE, who scent the first buds of the English rose in June, and gather the
perfume of wild flowers from the hedgerow amid deep country lanes
WE, who hear the magnificent peal of Cathedral chimes; and, echoing across
the fields, the bells from some old church tower, which tell of the immortality
of England, or sometimes softly intoning of one who has gone back to his rest
in her bosom
WE, who have given our father's blood, our brother's blood, and our children's
blood that the great spirit of Britain shall bring knowledge, prosperity and peace
among the peoples of the world
WE, whose word has been our bond, to whom lies do not easily come, and
to whom the sanctity of contract means our personal honour
WE, to whom fair dealing as between man and man implies a moral integrity
beyond the Penal Code
WE, who inspired the freedom of mankind from slavery, and will not endure
its imposition on ourselves
WE, whose spirit responds to the profound and eternal truths traditional in
the British character
WE, whose genius has been inspired by the quiet grandeur, sculptured and
painted by the Great Architect of this land
WE, whose individual souls are cast in the everlasting model of our country
WE, who are strong as the English oak, and whose endurance has been tested
through a thousand years of history
WE, who, through British fibre, have conquered in every field of manly
endeavour, have endured tropical suns and arctic frosts, have held the beleaguered
trench, kept the watch before Ypres and have marched to the uttermost ends of
the earth
WE, whose name as Britons, is written fairly upon the great pages of history,
and whose great figures occupy the forefront of a World's Pageant
WE, who have in our bones and blood the matchless tradition of these Islands
WE, who cherish the ideals for which, in good times and bad Great Britain
has stood
WE, summoning courage from the heart of our land in which it is vested
WE declare that we stand unmoved for the ideals which have inspired our
race, and will go forward renewed, regenerated, united, towards the great destiny
which an unerring history contributes as our right.
God Save The King.