THE NOBLE 8th OF DECEMBER.
To be Sung to the Tune of
"THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME"
---:O:---
When our fleet left Abrolhos rocks
To sweep the mighty ocean,
That we could give the Germans socks
We had a mighty notion,
The INVINCIBLE and the INFLEXIBLE
. A noteworthy addition,
Would quickly sweep the German decks,
And send them to perdition.
CHORUS:--
The glorious feat of the phantom fleet
We always will remember,
When we cleared the seas of Graf Von Spee
On the noble 8th of December.
Brave Sturdee took supreme command,
On board his Battle Cruiser,
He knew the game was in his hands,
And didn't mean to lose her.
The BRISTOL, GLASGOW, CORNWALL, KENT,
All keen to do their section
So with the CAENARVON off they went
In a southerly direction.
For ten long days we ploughed the main,
Our vigilance was tireless,
~ No news of us the foes could gain.
We did not use our wireless.
Port Stanley in the Falkland Isles
Was our first destination,
Another good three thousand miles
In the service of the nation.
We dropped the hook on Monday morn,
Coaled ship with speed terrific,
Expecting next to round the Horn
And sweep up the Pacific,
The Cruisers MONMOUTH and GOOD HOPE
Had there met with disaster,
We'd give the Kaiser no more rope
But show him who was master.
Next day the look-out on Sappers Hill
Some foreign war-ships sighted,
'The news went through us with a thrill
And all hands were delighted,
'The Dresden, Leipzig and Nurenberg,
Could all be seen with ease now
Along with two armed merchantmen
And the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau.
Each man was quickly at his post
And outside our ships soon steaming
Prepared to meet our foreign host
With ensigns gaily streaming,
But Graf Von Spee, he stood aghast
To fight as he regretted,
For two big ships with tripod masts
Was not what he expected.
The flagship sank the Scharnhorst
The Inflexible the Gneisenau,
The Nurenburg who fought the Kent
Lies underneath the sea now,
The Leipzig was the Glasgow's bag,
Of her pluck you have no notion,
They sent her down to join her flag
At the bottom of the ocean.
This song was kindly provided by Ernest Spencer, a
Falkland Islander now living in Manchester, who discovered it amongst
memorabilia from his grandmother Henrietta Jane Spencer (nee Hutchinson)
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