The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels - Bert Beros

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 halos,

Only holes slashed in the ears,

And with faces worked by tattoos,

With scratch pins in their hair,

Bringing back the wounded,

Just as steady as a hearse,

Using leaves to keep the rain off

And as gentle as a nurse.

Slow and careful in bad places,

On the awful mountain track,

And the look upon their faces,

Makes us think that Christ was black.

Not a move to hurt the carried,

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 the Husbands, Weans and Wives,

Just because the Fuzzy Wuzzy

Carried them to save their lives.

From mortar or machine gun fire,

Or a chance surprise attack,

To safety and the care of Doctors,

At the bottom of the track.

May the Mothers in Australia,

When they offer up a prayer,

Mention those impromptu Angels,

With the Fuzzy Wuzzy hair.

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Bert Beros [Herbert "Bert" Beros] (1907 - 1974) Australia

Source: ANZAC Day Commemorative Committee