224219 Lt. Hubert Creighton Llewellyn Royal Navy HMS Penelope from:Pontyrpidd (d.18th Feb 1944) For Hubert Creighton Llewellyn
A time to remember.
I never knew my father.
No warrior, he.
But he, answered his nation’s call to arms.
To defend the country, he loved,
And protect its freedom, for Mum and me.
I never knew my father.
A Welshman from the valleys,
A doctor, who loved life.
HMS Penelope, his destination
The sea, his battlefield to be.
Reluctantly, he left Mum and me.
I never knew my father.
The war went on and on,
the land screamed with the pain of soldiers,
the sky turned red with the blood of airmen,
And the sea—
the sea, submerged the bodies of drowned sailors,
And raged in fury at the folly of men.
We feared for him, Mum and me.
I never knew my father.
And, it was not to be.
The knock, the telegram,
the cacophony of grief.
He had died fighting for us, his King and Country.
A black and white photograph of a laughing, happy man,
Life had changed forever, for Mum and me.
I never knew my father.
The fighting did stop,
Surrender did come,
The armistice was signed, and humanity wept with relief,
But, all this came too late for so many, many, more,
Than, just Mum and me.
I never knew my father,
The decades pass, peace and forgiveness prevail
Happiness returns and life goes on.
When, on a grey November day,
as a nation mourns its dead,
a laughing, smiling shimmering face, and time stops still.
An old black and white photograph has sprung to life,
Resurrection, perhaps?
Too late for Mum to see, but there, for me.
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