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From: Peter Fairbrother <peter@tsto.co.uk>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: All the Little Angels (Pratchett)
Date: Sun, 18 May 2025 19:27:59 +0100
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
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Fans may or may not like this.

Been doing some research into the song "All the Little Angels" in Night 
Watch.

The song originated as below in WW1, when the "little angels" were 
British RFC pilots and observers. They had a very low survival rate, 
especially in unarmed observer or bomber aircraft against German 
fighters (cf von Richtofen), and ARSE END UP meant defenceless and open 
to being metaphorically f#*+ed by the Germans and shot down or dead - 
sadly nothing immediately sexy, or involving pretty women :( .

In the last line the pilots go to heaven, maybe.

It was mostly sung by the "little angels" themselves, and later became a 
war pilots' song:

All the little angels ascend up, ascend up,
All the little angels ascend up on high.
Ascend up, Ascend up,
Which end up? ARSE END UP!
All the little angels ascend up on high.

1945 RAAF Mess Songbook version

Appropriate for any combat situation where you are probably going to get 
killed. As in the book. 25 May is coming soon...

There may have been an earlier German pilot's song to which this is a 
sort-of reply, but I can't find references for that.


Peter Fairbrother

who has been reading Armor by John Steakley recently, ouch...