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Dedication
They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
‘Ode of Remembrance’, Lawrence Binyon
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Author’s Note
Whilst the characters and settings in this story are fictional, the social and political events are real. The language used is, as far as it is possible to discern, that of the time period in which the story is set. A glossary of military terminology is included at the end of the story.
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Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically. The cataclysm has happened, we are among the ruins, we start to build up new little habitats, to have new little hopes. It is rather hard work: there is now no smooth road into the future: but we go round, or scramble over the obstacles. We’ve got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover, D H Lawrence
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Part One: 1944
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When Skies Have Fallen Page 2