THE CHANGELINGS

THE CHANGELINGS

R.N.V.R.

“ SEA CONSTABLES “

Or ever the battered liners sank

With their passengers to the dark

I was head of a Walworth Bank,

And you were a grocer's clerk.

I was a dealer in stocks and shares,

And you in butters and teas;

And we both abandoned our own affairs

And took to the dreadful seas.

Wet and worry about our ways-

Panic, onset and flight-

Had us in charge for a thousand days

And thousand-year-long night.

We saw more than the nights could hide-

More than the waves could keep-

And--certain faces over the side

Which do not go from our sleep.

We were more tired than words can tell

While the pied craft fled by,

And the swinging mounds of the Western swell

Hoisted us Heavens-high...

Now there is nothing - not even our rank-

To witness what we have been;

And I am returned to my Walworth Bank

And you to your margarine!

                                 Rudyard Kipling

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The poem “ THE CHANGELINGS “ was used by Kipling at the beginning of the short story “ SEA CONSTABLES a tale of 1915 “. This story was included in the book of Kipling’s short stories “ DEBITS AND CREDITS “ which was published in 1926.

The abbreviation R.N.V.R. is for Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve which was formed in 1903 and administered by the British Royal Navy. During World War Two the R.N.V.R. became the main route for wartime officer entry into the Royal Navy. The service was called the “wavy navy” after the wavy sleeve stripes on the R.N.V.R. officers uniforms to differentiate them from the other naval officers.