Alphabet Of The War

This little article by Aubrey Ford was first published in the London Opinion and was subsequently republished in the Kildare Observer.

Penned in the first few months of the war, it is an excellent patriotic, flag waving article and captures the optimistic spirit of the time.

ALPHABET OF THE WAR

A Stands for Austria, Awed and afraid.

B Stands for Belgium, so basely betrayed.

C Is for Cossacks that never were cowed.

D ! What the Kaiser's been saying quite loud.

E Is the English for, Amen.

F Stands for French, both the man and the men.

G For the Germans, their graves let them grieve;

H The lost honour they ne'er will retrieve.

I Stands for Indians, imperially true;

J Stands for Joffre, and Jellicoe, too.

K For our king, and our great K. of Ki.;

L For Liece, and lost lovely Louvanin.

M Stands for mines for our merchantmen laid;

N For our Navy that guarding our trade.

O For the outrages, German's shame,

P Is the price to be paid for the same.

Q Is the quid proque Britain had waiting;

R The steam roller, its rush ne'er abating.

S Stands for sausage and sauerkraut, what!

T For the treaties the war lord forgot.

U For the Uhlans we quickly upset;

V Is the victory soon we shall get.

W That's Wilhelm, who'd so much to say,

X Is that 'Xit he'll make one fine day.

Y'S For the years that he's yearned for this fight.

Z Are his Zeppelins served jolly well right.

(The London Opinion replaced Barry Pain's weekly To-Day, in July 1905; it was a digest-sized monthly magazine and it carried some fiction as well as cartoons, humorous squibs, etc.
It absorbed The Humorist in August 1940 and was absorbed by Men Only at some point in the 1950s).