He walked to school down Printshop
Carried his sister on his back
All the world before him
What would be his track?
Coop turned him down – wrong school
So Michael went down the pit
Only fourteen years of age
Hardly fit for it
Four years in that darkness
Then he walked to Wigan
Joined the British army
Took the old king’s shilling
Didn’t tell his parents
They would disagree
But he needed to be living
He needed to be free
Six years he signed up for
Enjoyed the life so free
In that Indian sunshine
As lovely as can be
Letter in his pocket
Arsenal fancied him
Then came Mister Hitler
The world was turning grim
Six more years of fighting
Desert sands and heat
Freezing cold at night time
Life can have you beat
Made it back to Blighty
Met and married Mum
Off again the next day
Normandy and the Hun
Encounter there in Meinstedt
Michael on patrol
Arrests a German soldier
Puts him on the dole
Turns out that man is Himmler
Power of Nazi might
All the evil of the war
Stopped without a fight
Home again and down the mine
Family to feed
The boy who walked to Wigan
Now knows his own creed
We follow in his footsteps
Proud to call him Dad
His name is Michael Fahy
Best dad I ever had
Brian Fahy
9 December 2021
Erris Poetry 