The King's Shilling (CTG)

The King's Shilling

They took the King's shilling,
went to fight for God, King, and Country
and came not back again:
Ivor, Wilfred, Frank, Archie, George
and Henry came not back again.

They played football with their mates
-- minded each other's backs,
survived tackles in fine fettle,
for he who defends also creates.

They took the King's shilling,
went to fight for God, King, and Country
and came not back again:
Henry, George, Archie, Frank, Wilfred
and Ivor came not back again.

Christopher T. George

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3413/...c1d2015b28.jpg

War Memorial, Sandwich, Kent, by Joe Neary

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3585/...991b1f1bcd.jpg

British soldiers' Company C football team

Very good Chris.

There was an interesting TV doc presented by Ian Hislop called 'Not Forgotten', made back in 2005. It looked at the personal history behind some of the memorials that we now find on public buildings, shopping malls, villiage crosses. I'm not sure whether it's been released in the US yet?

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/not-forgotten


Also,

'In 1920, along with other national coins, the silver content was reduced from 92.5% (sterling) to 50%, and in 1947 to pure cupro-nickel' (from wiki)

So the King's shilling was stripped down of it's sterling content after the great war.

Thanks, Dazza. I'm a coin collector so well know about the metallic content of the coinage. An interesting aside on the coinage situation by the way is that the U.S. government has not succeeded in getting the public to accept a dollar coin instead of the dollar bill, which of course wears out sooner than would a coin. Another example of the U.S. being a bit "backward" in comparison to the rest of the world.

All the best

Chris

No to coins...at least they can't be accused of passing the buck. ;-)

The bill that spawned a thousand controversy theories. It has a relationship with every American citizen. I can understand the reluctance to let it go. It's more familiar than Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup. I suppose it has to turn to coin...but it won't be without some growing pains attached.

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