Black Prince Smitten
A son of Knowle, aboard a British warship,
Encouraged children to ‘do their bit’,
In sending Christmas cards and seasonal gifts
To H.M.S. Black Prince, for which their candles were surely lit.
That son of Knowle and his ship’s grateful company
Fashioned, in return, an ensign white;
Sending the flag as a precious endowment,
A link, an association, yet veiling their plight.
A son of Knowle and courageous shipmates
Engaged the enemy in Jutland’s dangerous water;
The Black Prince was sunk, the company perished
In the burning, the carnage, the slaughter…
That son of Knowle, Frank, was Smitten
On the very day that the ensign arrived
At the vicarage, a wicked indictment of war;
Yet that flag has miraculously survived…
PeteRay
January 2011
The Sunday School’s children at Knowle’s Parish Church adopted Able Seaman Frank Smitten’s warship and what a cruel twist of fate it was when the flag sent by the ship’s company arrived at Knowle’s vicarage on the 31st May, 1916, which was the day that the ship was sunk…
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