When Winton Aerodrome was bombed,
The “Casualties were small”.
Just your son, and my son, and little widow Brown’s son,
The youngest of them all.

And your son was your eldest lad,
Handsome and straight and tall.
A model for your younger sons,
Beloved by you all.

And Mrs Brown’s, her youngest boy,
Her sole support, and stay.
So like his father, all her joy,
Was quenched, on that dark day.

And mine, my only son and pride,
So loved and dear to all.
The blast of bombs spread far and wide,
Tho’ “the casualties were small”.

The exact date of the poem ‘The Casualties Were Small’ is not known. It is likely that May wrote it, as an expression of her worst fears for Ron’s safety, following his description of the circumstances of the live bomb incident could easily have been fatal for him (see Diary post 10 Sep. 1941). The poem has been added to the poems collection on this site. It inspired the title of the book The Casualties Were Small which contains over twenty of May’s poems as well as selected diary extracts, including those which suggest the background to each poem, accompanied by many nostalgic photographs.

Have you read an introduction to May Hill & family (includes photographs) and explored ‘The Casualties Were Small’?

Oh sweet the voice that tells of victory won at last,
That strife between the nations now is passed.
That we may rest in safety and in quietness,
Thro’out the hours of holy darkness calm and still.
No noise of guns or sirens blast to warn,
Only sweet sleep until the peaceful morn.
When waking to our work with happy thankfulness,
We sing our praise to God and his salvation bless.

How blest to hear the Storms of God’s creation,
The roar of winds wild exultation.
We revel in the rolling drums of thunder,
and brave the shining of the lightning’s sword.
We fear no earthly foe now God is near,
but worship him with love and holy fear.
To shape anew our lives oh grant us grace,
and knit the hearts of all in their embrace …

The exact date of the poem ‘Sweet the Voice that Tells of Victory’ is not known. It is possible that May wrote it, in a thoughtful but somewhat optimistic mood as Easter 1941 approached, following reports of Yugoslavia and Greece’s position on the Allied side and of USA sending help (see 6 Apr. 1941). The poem has been added to the poems collection on this site. It also appears in the book The Casualties Were Small.

Have you read an introduction to May Hill & family (includes photographs) and explored ‘The Casualties Were Small’?

Oh Win! Thy name is Winter,
Because of thy dark coat.
And also for the snowflake,
That lies upon thy throat.

Thy name is also Winter,
Because t’was then thou came.
Out of the stormy weather,
To our hearth’s bright flame.

Thy coat has felt full many a scrap,
Thy ears are ragged left and right.
Thy poor left paw has felt a trap,
But thine eyes still are clear and bright.

They left thee on the doorstep Win,
And went away to other parts.
They did not guess it was a sin,
But hoped the neighbours had kind hearts.

The poem ‘To Win’ has been added to the poems collection on this site. It also appears in the book The Casualties Were Small .

Have you read an introduction to May Hill & family (includes photographs) and explored ‘The Casualties Were Small’?

I hear the click of the garden gate,
But it is not he.
He comes no more either early or late,
To his dinner or tea.
He is far away in an Air Force Camp,
Learning to fight.
(I wonder if his blankets are damp,
And if he sleeps well at night.)

Not twenty years when went away.
Just a boy.
He may never again come back to stay,
To delight and annoy.
Will what he has gained balance what he has lost?
He will change.
Will his growth to manhood improve him most?
Or make him change?

I open the casement into his room,
So tidy and neat.
And the sun shines in and chases the gloom,
And the wind blows sweet.
Ready for him when, early or late,
He comes back home to the sea.
I hear the click of the garden gate,
But it is not he.
(Perhaps it is Rene coming to tea!)

Have you read an introduction to May Hill & family (includes photographs) and explored ‘The Casualties Were Small’?

The boys and girls of England,
They bear the yoke of war.
They hear the noise of guns and bombs,
And a throbbing from afar,
That tells of planes now coming near,
To drop destruction death, and pain,
Of wounds and deathly, racking, awful fear.
These little ones who should be safe
And warm within their sheltered homes,
Now cower in shelters cold and damp,
In peril of life and home and health,
And evil done to them by stealth.
Lord out of all Thy stores of wealth,
Grant us Thy aid to win this war,
That in a new and better age,
Thy little ones shall dwell in Peace.
Thou saidst “Whoe’er offended these,
T’were better that a millstone hung about his neck,
And he were cast into the sea.”
Lord cast him out into the depths, without Thy aid.
Thy older children are afraid.

Have you read an introduction to May Hill & family (includes photographs) and explored ‘The Casualties Were Small’?