Chauncy Hemmingford Martin-Bates
Went down to the town with some of his mates
They started at Epping in the north
Blithely riding their tricycles forth
 
In Loughton were joined by a caravan
Driven by a very rotund man
Who said “Boys, I’ll stop and rest a spell”
“But I’ll catch up in old Chigwell”
 
So, they waited at Limes Farm Estate
For the caravan that was running late
Then pedaled line-abreast to Stamford Hill
In Tottenham where the station is standing still
 
And there a woman in a lime green hat
Called “Wait a minute, I’ll get my cat”
Whereupon she mounted her favorite lion
And joined the queue which was perfectly fine
 
They crossed the bridge to Central Parade
An obliging policeman came to their aid
Stopping the traffic as they pedaled through
Where waited an elephant or two
 
The tricycles, caravan, lion and pachyderm
Spanned the road from berm to berm
People applauded as they went past
Especially the elephant, which was last
 
And then the Hackney marching band
With polished instruments, sounding grand
Joined the boys and the others there
And they all marched down to Hitchin Square
 
About half-way over to London Pool
The parade was joined by a silly old fool
Dressed in motley, carrying a horn
They passed through London where he’d been born
 
Pedestrians stopped and chose to wave
To Chauncy Hemmingford, oh so brave
Leading the entire disparate bunch
Which stopped in Chelsea for some lunch
 
Then they pushed on to Kensington
The lady on the lion said, “This is fun”
“I’ve never had such a splendid lark”
As they all paraded through Acton Park
 
She clapped her hands and proceeded to dance
The elephant was inspired to prance
They passed through Ealing, it wasn’t hard
Where the troop was joined by the Mounted Guard
 
The horses cantered and looked quite keen
When they got down to Norwood Green
The drums did drum and the horns did blow
As the cavalcade entered old Hounslow
 
By the time they crossed the River Thames
A firetruck had joined right in
People came from miles around
To watch them traverse Richmond town
 
They congregated in Richmond Park
As it was beginning to grow dark
And congratulated each and every one
That the trip through town had been such fun
 
Chauncy Hemmingford who had led
Announced that it was time for bed
Thanking them in a most sincere way
For having all come out to play!