Where does this poem come from?

[River Tyne Lass]

The North East War Memorials Project have a page up on their website asking where this poem comes from:

'Sleep lightly lad,
Thou art set for King's guard at daybreak.
With spotless kit turned out
And take a place of honour.'

Apparently, this is on a number North East memorials. When I saw this I thought if anyone is able to answer this it may well be a RootsChatter.

If you know the answer perhaps you may wish to contact them direct or put the answer on here.  I would then let them know and would also tell them that any answer was forthcoming from RootsChat.

Thank You.

[cath151]

Hi
Does nt help much I m afraid but there is the following..
Aberdeen Press and Journal 14th July 1920
Dyke Roll of Honour
The Great War 1914-1918
Sleep lightly lad
Thou are set for Kings Guard at daybreak
With spotless kit turned out
And take a place of honour.

The quotation we understand was one inscribed on a cairn erected by Navymen on  one of our far flung battlefields. The actual quote is not known, but it may be of interest to know that a well known Scottish admiral, having come across the cairn, was so affected that, in a few cursory remarks, he asked his men "Why the --- they had cut the s's the wrong way".

Cathy

[JenB]

The North East War Memorials Project have a page up on their website asking where this poem comes from:

I hadn't realised before that there is an excellent page on the NEWMP site listing quotations found on the war memorials for which they have records, and the sources for those quotations.

As well as the one RTL has highlighted there are several others currently unattributed.
 http://www.newmp.org.uk/category.php?categoryid=10
 
On the same page is an email address to which you can reply if you know the source of any of them

[hepburn]

It's also here..http://www.rootschat.com/links/01kth/


A Methodist Newspaper dated b1917..Scroll down to 'A Sunday Afternoon.'

[stanmapstone]

The first mention in the Newspaper Archive is in the Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser - Saturday 25 March 1916, in the obituary of a Lieut. Ronald Love.

Stan

[River Tyne Lass]

Thank you so much to everyone who has replied with helpful information.

This is interesting to hear of the old cairn.  Also, thanks for added links giving more information.

(NEWMP is such a great website - it alslo provides information on those who served and survived and is not only limited to those who died and are named on monuments.)

I am off to work now for a 12 hour shift but as soon as I can (most likely Wednesday) I will email NEWMP and let them know about this and that the information was forthcoming from RootsChat.  Many thanks