Robert Patton - The Always Ready
Always Ready - he was always ready
In nineteen-thirty-four he gave his life
Always Ready - he was always ready
Aged forty-six he gave away his life
Dispenser was a salvage steamer - sinking in the blast
A tug had taken seven men off safely
The Always Ready came alongside - to take off the last
And Robert Patton said "We'll catch you safely"
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The last man on Dispenser was disabled and in fear
No jacket left to save his life in water
As Coxswain Patton clutched his legs - he still clung on in fear
The lifeboat was tossed backward in the water
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Down down the two men plummeted - in steaming boiling wave
The lifeboat Always Ready hurling inward
As Patton lifted up the man he'd held on tight to save
His crewmen hauled him up and took him onboard
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But still the lifeboat bucketed toward Dispenser's side
With Patton caught between the two - and crushing
He said "I couldn't let him go For surely he'd have died"
He saved the man - but Patton now was dying
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In Runswick - to his funeral - four thousand people came
His Gold Medal was awarded after death
And Robert Patton's name lived on - Still saving lives the same
As Coxwain Robert Patton's final breath
Robert Patton - he was Always Ready
In nineteen-thirty-four he gave his life
Robert Patton of The Always Ready
Aged forty-six he gave away his life
and the lifeboat was re-named Robert Patton - "The Always Ready"
2002 Charlotte Peters Rock
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