This piece of verse was written by Patrick Hamilton, who served throughout WW2 in, among others, Dido at 2nd battle of Sirte, then in the destroyer Lively, which was sunk under him, and finally the corvette, Vetch. He left the Navy after the war, and became a successful painter.

THEIR NAME LIVETH

Admiralty, Admiralty, Admiralty calling,
Calling the names that were called in the past.
A handful will answer where once there were hundreds
Who now find their echo alone in the heart.

Acheron, Arrow, Ardent, Acasta,

Ajax, Achilles, Albion, Aid,

Albemarle, Agincourt, Amethyst, Asia,

Anson, Aurora, Amphion, Ambuscade.

Barham, Bacchante, Boreas, Beagle,

Benbow, Bellona, Barfleur and Broke,

Bulwark, Britannia, Birkenhead, Bristol,

Basilisk, Berwick, Blanche, Bolingbroke.

Breasting the oceans in order majestic,

Line upon line to the reddening sun,

Hull-down on horizons through mist so caressing,

We proudly salute you whose battles are won.

Caesar, Centurion,Cossack, Calliope,

Conqueror, Cornwall, Cressy, Carlisle,

Canada, Codrington, Cambrian, Coventry,

Colossus, Canopus, Coquette, Crocodile.

Diadem, Doris, Devonshire, Duncan,

Donegal, Dragon, Danae and Drake,

Deptford and Dryad, Dreadnought, Dominion,

Dido, Dunedin, Defiance, Defence.

Ceaselessly wakeful and constantly watching,

Even when riding at anchor you lay,

Guarding the hills which so gently enfolded you,

Sinuous, seaman-like, silent and grey.

Eagle, Euryalus, Edinburgh, Erin,

Enterprise, Edgar, Emerald, Exe,

Elephant, Egmont, Egret, Endymion,

Echo, Electra, Encounter, Express.

Fearless, Formidable, Frobisher, Fury,

Fortune and Forester, Foudroyant, Fame,

Furious, Foxhound, Faulknor, Fairy,

Fervent and Falmouth, Firedrake and Flame.

In peace you were lovely – trim, sleek or majestic,

Decks scrubbed white like corn in the sunshine, and brass

Which twinkled and shone in a clear-cut perfection,

Your hulls grey enamel which mirrored like glass.

Grebe, Galatea, Ganges and Gurkha,

Gallant, Goliath, Gentian and Gnat,

Glowworm, and Glorious, Grafton, Gibraltar,

Glasgow, Godetia, Greyhound and Grant.

Havelock, Hero, Hasty, Hyperion,

Hannibal, Hermes, Highflyer, Hood,

Hotspur and Halcyon, Havock, Hibernia,

Hindustan, Hereward, Hercules, Hawke.

Have we lost you? I wonder, for though we can’t see you,

We know in our hearts that you’re part of us yet.

How can we have lost you, who manned you, who kept you;

How can we have lost you who will not forget?

Intrepid, Inflexible, Isis, Implacable,

Iron Duke, Invincible, Inistrashull,

Imogen, Ilex, Indus, Impregnable,

Inglefield, Icarus, Iris and Isle.

Javelin, Jaguar, Juno and Jervis,

Juliet, Jason, Jamaica and Jed,

Jersey and Jackal, Jupiter, Janus,

Jasmine and Jonquil, Jewel and Jade.

Masthead lamps blinking across the dark waters,

Signal lamps answering out in the stream,

“To the Fleet, from the Flagship: prepare to weigh anchor;

Alter course in succession with Stroma abeam.”

Keith, Keppel, Kenya, Kelvin and Kimberley,

Kempenfelt, Kipling, Kelly, Khartoum,

Kandahar, Kingston, Kent, Kestrel, Kingfisher,

Kennet, King Edward, Kilmarnock, Kilmorne.

Laforey, Lightning, Lookout and Legion,

Loyal and Lively, Latona and Lance,

Lurcher and London, Leopard, Leviathan,

Lion, Lark, Lapwing, Lord Nelson and Larne.