William Pike Osborne
They laughed and learned and laboured, did the Men of Yesterday.
The tents were struck ere dawning ; beneath a rainy sky They marched away to Old Quebec to hear their last
goodbye. The streets were filled with khaki and on the crowded
pier Were tear-wet eyes and breaking hearts, O Men of
Yesteryear !
O sacred soil of Flanders, red altar of our pride, Historic field of Langemarck where on they fought and
died! There were none that fought more bravely or their
honour held more dear Than the men who lit their campfires in this valley
Yesteryear.
They have writ another chapter on our envied scroll of
Fame. They have set the Empire ringing with our proud
Dominion s name; But they paid a costly quittance. And we, with sigh
and tear, We, too, must pay our reckoning, O Men of Yesteryear !
Once more the heavy lorries plough up Valcartier hill, Once more within the dusty lines the troop-horse
whinnies shrill; And khaki figures come and go, their sharp commands
I hear, But I see a phantom army- Tis the Men of Yesteryear !
O men who left Valcartier, God rest your valiant shades That walk amid the ghostly tents and haunt the lonely
glades ! When the last, loud trump is sounding and the Warrior
Hosts appear,
He shall number you among them, O Men of Yesteryear !
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