The verse is attributed to John Maxwell Edmonds (1875-1958), and is thought to have been inspired by the epitaph written by Simonides to honour the Greeks who fell at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480BC." SOURCE: (
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The Battle of Kohima"One of the greatest battles of the Second World War, the Battle of Kohima was the turning point of the Japanese offensive into India in 1944.
It claimed the lives of thousands of men on both sides, and was fought around the town of Kohima in Nagaland between April 1944 and June 1944.
By the time the battles were done, more than 4,000 British soldiers had died, together with 7,000 Japanese forces.
Many of the latter died from starvation, disease, or took their own lives.
The war cemetery in Kohima for the 1,420 Allied dead lies on the slopes of Garrison Hill, and is regularly visited by people."
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Recessional by Rudyard KiplingThe quote "Lest we forget" is from the poem "Recessional" by Rudyard Kipling. It was composed for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, in 1897.
Recessional” contains five stanzas of six lines each. As a recessional is a hymn or piece of music that is sung or played at the end of a religious service, in some respects the title dictates the form of the poem, which is that of a traditional English hymn.
Initially, Kipling had not intended to write a poem for the Jubilee. It was written and published only towards the close of the Jubilee celebrations, and represents a comment on them, an afterword. The poem was first published in The Times on July 17, 1897.
The poem went against the celebratory mood of the time, providing instead a reminder of the transient nature of British Imperial power. The poem expresses both pride in the British Empire, but also an underlying sadness that the Empire might go the way of all previous empires. "The title and its allusion to an end rather than a beginning add solemnity and gravitas to Kipling's message." In the poem, Kipling argues that boasting and jingoism, faults of which he was often accused, were inappropriate and vain in light of the permanence of God.
God of our fathers, known of old,
Lord of our far-flung battle line,
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine —
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!
The tumult and the shouting dies;
The Captains and the Kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!
Far-called, our navies melt away;
On dune and headland sinks the fire:
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!
If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe,
Such boastings as the Gentiles use,
Or lesser breeds without the Law—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!
For heathen heart that puts her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard,
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
And, guarding, calls not Thee to guard;
For frantic boast and foolish word—
Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!"
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The slate plaque incised with gold lettering is located on the left side face of the Hanley War Memorial, and reads as follows;
NORTH STAFFS BRANCH
DEDICATED TO OUR COMRADES WHO FOUGHT IN
THE BURMA CAMPAIGN
1941-1945
"WHEN YOU GO HOME, TELL THEM OF US AND SAY,
FOR YOUR TOMORROW WE GAVE OUR TODAY." Kohima Epitaph
LEST WE FORGET