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.

HISTORISCHE KRANTEN

The Ypres Times (1921-1936) | 1933 | | pagina 12