During October, November and December 2009, poems were pouring in for the anthology. The youngest contributor was eleven years old and
wrote the most heart wrenching poem, which brought tears to everyone's eyes.
By now, a couple of officers and senior administrators had already started to investigate the best way of getting the poetry book published.
However, by late December, something of far more importance had eclipsed the anthology. Excitement started to mount as formal plans were posted on the forum concerning the Squadron’s homecoming in February. These plans included a ‘Squadron Arrival Reception,’ a ‘Squadron Function,’ a ‘Medal Parade,’ and an official ‘Homecoming Parade,’ through the town of Bury-St-Edmunds.
As the weeks elapsed, poems became thinner on the ground as everyone became immersed in their own personal happiness and plans for homecoming.
There was however, one small niggle. Someone raised the question as to what would become of our regular Wednesday nights in the forum chat-room when the Squadron came home?
Would the forum be disbanded? Dismantled? Obliterated? Heaven forbid!
A letter to the webmaster was called for.
Dear Mr Webmaster – hearken to our plight,
When the 27th Squadron’s back in town,
We’re going to miss our chat room, where we meet each Wednesday night,
And we’re really scared you’re going to close it down!
Now some of us are youngsters and some a little older,
Some are short, some tall, some thin, some fat!
Some of us are timid and some, a great deal bolder,
But every single one of us likes a chat.
We chat about our fellahs and the things that we like best,
We’re never rude – we’re pure as driven snow,
We chat about our phobias and the things that we detest,
And other things that you don’t want to know!
Please don’t disband the forum – it’s a lifeline we all share,
Just think of all the happy hours we’ve spent,
We promise that we’ll be so quiet, you’ll hardly know we’re there,
If you’ll let us prattle to our heart’s content.
Maggie Smart
Well! Webmaster really came up trumps, sending us the following poetic reassurance by return:
Thank you for your message, eloquently put, The forum is there for as long as you like, I promise it won't be shut. Here in the HQ we are proud to provide a link, For the families of our fantastic RAF Regt boys, So it's nice to know what you think. Keep up the good work, helping all your friends, Make the time pass as quickly as possible , Till the lads come back safe and well when this detachment ends. (Webmaster)
And finally, the time came for 27th Squadron to hand over their responsibilities in Afghanistan and return to their loved ones.
As the tour came to an end, so the poetry book was closed, at least until the next time…
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