Tribute to the forgotten man(anon)

[Alanrae]

The siren shrieks its farewell note,and proudly on her way
The brand new giant liner moves in grandeur down the bay
A marvellous creation,her builders' joy and pride
The great hope of her owners as she floats upon the tide.
the passengers in festive mood,'mid laughter ,jest and quip,
With keen delight enjoy the great ship's maiden trip.
She's sure to break the record,she'll do thirty knots or more.
Is the hope of all on board as she leaves her natie shore.

Upon the bridge the captain,a skipper proud and bold
Bedecked in glorious raiments,navy blue and gold
All eyes are fixed upon him,and it's going to his head,
he stops to drop the pilot,then rings 'full speed ahead'
And 'down below' the battle starts for the trophy of the seas,
By engineers-not clad in gold-but greasy dungarees

On deck the scene is bly and gay-fair ladies,song and wine,
But hell is popping down below,beneath the Plimsoll Line.
The Chief raps out his orders to the men on watch below,
His men obey his mandates,about their tasks they go.
Steam pressure must not fluctuate,the bearings not run hot,
Revs must not be allowed to drop to make the thirty knots.
At dinner on the first night out the captain proudly boasts;
'We'll surely break the record'as the gallant ship he toasts.
But breaking records puts no grey hairs upon his head,
His contribution finished when he ordered 'full speed ahed'

Through weary days and sleepless nights to consummate his dream
The engineers slave ceaslessly till Ambrose Light's abeam
The record has been broken with thirty-one point four,
The Captain wears another stripe,he's now a'Commodore'.
And thus he gets the credit for what other men have done
He boasts to press and radio the victory he has won
Neglecting e'en to mention as he swings his ballyhoo
The men of brain and brawn and guts,who shoved the great ship through.

The moral of this poem then is quite conclusively
The glory seldom goes to those who win the victory.
To keep this simple thought in mind about a record trip
The man behind the throttle is the man who drives the ship

Unknown author,allegedly posted in the control room of the QE2
alan

[Bill Stringer]

Actually the author was a Marine Engineer R.F. Renz