See them come home, sliding and roaring by

The bright, beloved, marauders of the sky

Stern and serene young profiles and strong hands

That have dealt death and sorrow over lands

Once fair with peace and wine, young love and song.

They flew impersonal elated and strong

See them come in to land, their smiles, their eyes,

The triumph in their step. But strangely lies

Pain in this mouth, pale horror on that brow

That went unruffled, candid, gay, just now.

They have returned, fierce kinsmen of the wind

Brought back their lives but left their youth behind.

Rear Gunner, Sgt. Roy Arthur Yallop, 35 Squadron, Lancaster III PB366 TL-S. Crashed, with the loss of all the crew 24/25th December 1944.  Submitted to Aircrew Remembered by his brother, Barry Yallop, April 2012. Note: This poem was found in Roys’s notebook on Air raid Spotters and no title had been given. We have used “Marauders of the Sky” in order to place it on a page.