When Jesus came to Golgotha they hanged Him on a tree,
They drove great nails through hands and feet, and made a Calvary.
They crowned Him with a crown of thorns, red were the wounds and deep.
For those were crude and cruel days, the human flesh
cheap.
When Jesus came to Birmingham, they simply passed Him by,
They never hurt a hair of Him, they only let Him die.
For men had grown more tender, and they would not give Him
pain,
They only just passed down the street, and left Him in the rain.
Still Jesus cried, "Forgive them, for they know now what they
do."

And still it rained the winter rain that drenched Him through and
through.

The crowds went home and left the streets without a soul I to see,
And Jesus crouched against the wall and cried for Calvary.

The Rev G A Studdert-Kennedy was appointed chaplain to the forces in 1915. He served in the Somme offensive and he is famous for his book of verse about the First World War called "Rough Thymes of a Padre." He had a voice like a foghorn and swore like a trooper, but when he preached at Church Parade, every eye was on him and his sermons were the chief topic of conversation during the ensuing week. He handed out compassion, friendship, jollity and cigarettes in equal measure. He was known as "Woodbine Willie".

Contributed by Leona Rawson