LIEUTENANT GEORGE GORDON STEVEN
HEAVY SECTION MACHINE GUN CORPS (LATER TANK CORPS)
24TH OCTOBER 1916 AGE 0
BURIED: BLIGHTY VALLEY CEMETERY, AUTHUILLE WOOD, FRANCE
An enigmatic inscription which is explained when you realise that the quotation, "These are they", comes from the hymn, 'How Bright These Glorious Visions Shine'. The hymn is based on Revelation 7:14 "These are they which came out of great tribulation and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb". The full text of the hymn reveals how it could have brought comfort to the bereaved. Verse five reads:
Hunger and thirst are felt no more
Nor suns with scorching ray;
God is their Sun, whose cheering beams
Diffuse eternal day.
And verse seven:
Midst pastures green He'll lead His flock
Where living streams appear;
And God the Lord from every eye
Shall wipe off every tear.