Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels - Bert Beros Poem

Bert Beros Poem

A famous poem by Sapper Bert Beros which illustrates the effort shown by the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels:

The Fuzzy Wuzzies

Many a mother in Australia

when the busy day is done,

Sends a prayer to the Almighty

for the keeping of her son;

Asking that an Angel guide him

and bring him safely back -

Now we see those prayers are answered

on the Owen Stanley track.

For they haven't any haloes

only holes slashed through the ear

And their faces worked by tattoos

with scratch pins in their hair:

Bringing back the badly wounded

just as steady as a horse,

Using leaves to keep the rain off

and as gentle as a nurse

Slow and careful in bad places

on the awful mountain track

The look upon their faces

Would make you think that Christ was black

Not a move to hurt the wounded

as they treat him like a saint

It's a picture worth recording

that an artist's yet to paint

Many a lad will see his mother

and husbands see their wives

Just because the fuzzy wuzzy

carried them to save their lives

From mortar bombs and machine gun fire

or chance surprise attacks

To the safety and the care of doctors

at the bottom of the track

May the mothers of Australia

when they offer up a prayer.

Mention these impromptu angels

with their fuzzy wuzzy hair