GUNNER ALAN DOUGLAS ROWLAND MENZIES
ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY
28TH SEPTEMBER 1917 AGE 21
BURIED: BARD COTTAGE CEMETERY, YPRES, BELGIUM
His souls to Him, who gave it, rose;
God lead it to its long repose,
Its glorious rest!
And, though the warrior's sun has set,
Its light shall linger round us yet,
Bright, radiant, blest.
COPLAS de MANRIQUE
by Don Jorge Manrique (c1440-1479)
Translated from the Spanish by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
The dead warrior, Rodrigo Manrique, was the poet's father, a man with a 'strong heart of steel', who served his 'sovereign's crown' 'with patriot zeal' doing 'deeds of valour strong'. But, regardless of whether a man is high born or low born, rich or poor, virtuous or wicked, Manrique is keen to tell us that we are all destined to die, after which a better life awaits us.
Menzies' mother chose his inscription, whether she meant to imply that her son shared Rodrigo Manrique's qualities she has certainly declared that he will not be forgotten.
In 1911, fifteen-year-old Alan Menzies was a municipal gardener in Weymouth, like his father. He served in the Royal Garrison Artillery with the 21st Siege Battery. These were the heavy guns, the Howitzers, firing their 6 or 9 inch shells from behind the lines. There is no record as to how Menzies met his death but since the Howitzers could do devastating damage to the German trenches and communication routes, they in their turn were a prime target for the German guns.