"When the Tigers Broke Free"

It was just before dawn 
 One miserable morning in black '44.
 
 When the forward commander 
 Was told to sit tight 
 When he asked that his men be withdrawn. 
 
 And the Generals gave thanks 
 As the other ranks held back 
 The enemy tanks for a while. 
 
 And the Anzio bridgehead 
 Was held for the price 
 Of a few hundred ordinary lives.
 
 And kind old King George 
 Sent Mother a note 
 When he heard that father was gone.
 
 It was, I recall, 
 In the form of a scroll, 
 With gold leaf and all.
 
 And I found it one day 
 In a drawer of old photographs,
 hidden away.
 
 And my eyes still grow damp to remember 
 His Majesty signed 
 With his own rubber stamp.
 
 It was dark all around.
 There was frost in the ground
 When the Tigers broke free.
 
 And no one survived 
 From the Royal Fusiliers Company "C".
 
 They were all left behind,
 Most of them dead,
 The rest of them dying.
 
 And that's how the High Command
 Took my daddy from me.