When the clouds web a raven moon
His thirsty eyes your eyes may meet
And unless your senses frigidly swoon
Can hear may I have tea and biscuit!
The hungry seeker is ever on roam
Carrying in winds his heavy sighs
With none to call his own and home
Except night’s stray passersby!
If you stop some moments with him
Can hear war stories and his bravery
In soldier’s pride his eyes still gleam
His eyes are wet when speaks of Annie!
He roams the night till the moon is veiled
His home is here this earth his heaven
Loving to chat with the souls strong willed
About Annie who he left at forty seven!
Owen Tomkinson was a British soldier who died of cholera in the northern Indian state of Bihar in 1906. People around the area of his grave believe that his ghost stops residents and passersby and demands tea and biscuit. The epitaph on his grave reads 'In loving memory of Owen, The dearly loved husband of Annie Tomkinson who died on 19 September 1906, aged at 47 years'.