Sally Lancaster
Title
Sally Lancaster
Description
Ode to a local village girl whose mother took in washing from aircrew. Refers to 100 Squadron. Two versions both annotated 'Kathryn Reid, (half pint)' and other notes.
Language
Format
One page printed document
Conforms To
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
SReidK473650v20005, SReidK473650v20022
Transcription
[underlined] SALLY LANCASTER [/underlined]
Little Sally Lancaster
You are remembered down the years
By aircrews of 100 Squadron.
And how you helped to allay flying fears. It was a strange coincidence
Intriguing and quite true
That your surname should be the same as the plane in which they flew.
In 1944’s war torn summer
Young aircrew would be seen
Cycling down the steep village street
Racing past the village green
At a breakneck pace,
With one hand on the handlebar
And the other
Holding precariously perched in place
A parcel of washing for your Mother.
Summer swallows chased them
Darting and diving around, having fun.
Birds and boys enjoying
The “circuits” and bumps of the laundry run.
“Landing” safely at Sally’s cottage
To deliver their laundry there.
She would greet them with a happy smile
As they gathered round her chair
To watch her knitting woollen dolls
In patriotic red, white and blue.
Good luck charms three inches high
To take with them when they had to fly
And dice with death in a hostile sky.
Pretty Polly Lancaster
With lovely auburn curls
Sadly, you could not walk and play
With the other village girls,
But you labour of love, in the work of your hands
Wrought mascots of magic and the record stands-
In the invasion summer, until December
100 Squadron had the longest spell of good fortune
That anyone could remember.
Though heavily engaged in war,
The cost? Only one aircraft lost!
Four aircraft survived more
Than 100 operations.
Magnificent Men and Machines.
Bravery beyond believing
Endurance, sacrifice, guts and pluck
All played their part.
But little Sally Lancaster
Wise beyond her years
Knew ------ they [underlined] also [/underlined] needed [underlined] LUCK. [/underlined]
Kathryn Reid
(Half Pint)
[page break]
[underlined] SALLY LANCASTER [/underlined]
Little Sally Lancaster
You are remembered down the years
By aircrews of 100 Squadron.
And how you helped to allay flying fears. It was a strange coincidence
Intriguing and quite true
That your surname should be the same as the plane in which they flew.
In 1944’s war torn summer
Young aircrew would be seen
Cycling down the steep village street
Racing past the village green
At a breakneck pace,
With one hand on the handlebar
And the other [inserted] a parcel in place of [inserted] Their [/inserted] washg [sic] for your Mother [/inserted]
Holding precariously perched in place
A [deleted] parcel [/deleted] of washing for your Mother.
Summer swallows chased them
Darting and diving around, having fun.
Birds and boys enjoying
The “circuits” and bumps of the laundry run.
“Landing” safely at Sally’s cottage
To deliver their laundry there.
She would greet them with a happy smile
As they gathered round her chair
To watch her knitting woollen dolls
In patriotic red, white and blue.
Good luck charms three inches high
To take with them when they had to fly
And dice with death in a hostile sky.
Pretty Polly Lancaster
With lovely auburn curls
Sadly, you could not walk and play
With the other village girls,
But you labour of love, in the work of your hands
Wrought mascots of magic and the record stands-
In the invasion summer, until December
100 Squadron had the longest spell of good fortune
That anyone could remember.
Though heavily engaged in war,
The cost? Only one aircraft lost!
Four aircraft survived more
Than 100 operations.
Magnificent Men and Machines.
Bravery beyond believing
Endurance, sacrifice, guts and pluck
All played their part.
But little Sally Lancaster
Wise beyond her years
Knew ------ they [underlined] also [/underlined] needed [underlined] LUCK. [/underlined]
KTHRYN Reid
(Half Pint)
Little Sally Lancaster
You are remembered down the years
By aircrews of 100 Squadron.
And how you helped to allay flying fears. It was a strange coincidence
Intriguing and quite true
That your surname should be the same as the plane in which they flew.
In 1944’s war torn summer
Young aircrew would be seen
Cycling down the steep village street
Racing past the village green
At a breakneck pace,
With one hand on the handlebar
And the other
Holding precariously perched in place
A parcel of washing for your Mother.
Summer swallows chased them
Darting and diving around, having fun.
Birds and boys enjoying
The “circuits” and bumps of the laundry run.
“Landing” safely at Sally’s cottage
To deliver their laundry there.
She would greet them with a happy smile
As they gathered round her chair
To watch her knitting woollen dolls
In patriotic red, white and blue.
Good luck charms three inches high
To take with them when they had to fly
And dice with death in a hostile sky.
Pretty Polly Lancaster
With lovely auburn curls
Sadly, you could not walk and play
With the other village girls,
But you labour of love, in the work of your hands
Wrought mascots of magic and the record stands-
In the invasion summer, until December
100 Squadron had the longest spell of good fortune
That anyone could remember.
Though heavily engaged in war,
The cost? Only one aircraft lost!
Four aircraft survived more
Than 100 operations.
Magnificent Men and Machines.
Bravery beyond believing
Endurance, sacrifice, guts and pluck
All played their part.
But little Sally Lancaster
Wise beyond her years
Knew ------ they [underlined] also [/underlined] needed [underlined] LUCK. [/underlined]
Kathryn Reid
(Half Pint)
[page break]
[underlined] SALLY LANCASTER [/underlined]
Little Sally Lancaster
You are remembered down the years
By aircrews of 100 Squadron.
And how you helped to allay flying fears. It was a strange coincidence
Intriguing and quite true
That your surname should be the same as the plane in which they flew.
In 1944’s war torn summer
Young aircrew would be seen
Cycling down the steep village street
Racing past the village green
At a breakneck pace,
With one hand on the handlebar
And the other [inserted] a parcel in place of [inserted] Their [/inserted] washg [sic] for your Mother [/inserted]
Holding precariously perched in place
A [deleted] parcel [/deleted] of washing for your Mother.
Summer swallows chased them
Darting and diving around, having fun.
Birds and boys enjoying
The “circuits” and bumps of the laundry run.
“Landing” safely at Sally’s cottage
To deliver their laundry there.
She would greet them with a happy smile
As they gathered round her chair
To watch her knitting woollen dolls
In patriotic red, white and blue.
Good luck charms three inches high
To take with them when they had to fly
And dice with death in a hostile sky.
Pretty Polly Lancaster
With lovely auburn curls
Sadly, you could not walk and play
With the other village girls,
But you labour of love, in the work of your hands
Wrought mascots of magic and the record stands-
In the invasion summer, until December
100 Squadron had the longest spell of good fortune
That anyone could remember.
Though heavily engaged in war,
The cost? Only one aircraft lost!
Four aircraft survived more
Than 100 operations.
Magnificent Men and Machines.
Bravery beyond believing
Endurance, sacrifice, guts and pluck
All played their part.
But little Sally Lancaster
Wise beyond her years
Knew ------ they [underlined] also [/underlined] needed [underlined] LUCK. [/underlined]
KTHRYN Reid
(Half Pint)
Collection
Citation
“Sally Lancaster,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 28, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/39733.
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