A SCHOOLBOY has written his own tribute to Bolton’s veterans of the D-Day landings in Normandy — a poem.

Calvin Shipperbottom, aged 13, wrote A Soldier’s Tale, and mum Emma says it is so moving it sent a “shiver” down her spine.

Calvin, a year eight pupils at Sharples High School, has put his admiration for the ex-servicemen, including great grandfather Stanley Tonge, into his writing.

His 31-year-old mum said: “My grandad fought in the war and we have got other family who fought. For a young lad to write something like that, it shows young people to have some respect for our elders.

“When I read it I just went cold, it sent a shiver and then left me with a nice, warm feeling. He likes writing poems and has written others before.

“He also did a project on the war at school.”

Calvin added: “I was intrigued by the war when I wrote it — I just started doing it one day.

“I also made a big art project at school on the war recently.”

 

A Soldier’s Poem

There is a discipline in a solder,
You can see it when he walks,
There is honour in a soldier,
You hear it when he talks,
There is courage in a soldier,
You can see it in his eyes,
There is loyalty in a soldier,
That he will not compromise,
There is something in a soldier,
That makes him stand apart,
There is strength in a soldier,
That beats from the heart,
A soldier isn’t titled any man,
Any man can be a soldier,
A soldier is the soul of that man,
Buried deep inside of you,
A soldier’s job is not finished,
After an eight-hour day of a 40-hour week,
A soldier is always a soldier,
Even while he sleeps,
A soldier serves his country first,
And his life is left behind,
A soldier has to sacrifice,
What comes first in a civilian’s mind,
If you are a civilian,
I am saying this to you,
Next time you see a soldier,
Remember what they do,
A soldier is the reason,
Our land is home of the free,
A soldier is the one,
That is brave protecting you and me,
If you are a soldier,
I’m saying this to you,
Thank God for every soldier,
God bless you,
R.I.P.