Mission to Britain

by J Eugene Porter

  Everyone voiced their good nights to Fairbairn as they watched the old man walk away. James thought, he may be old, but he walks like a big cat with assured moves and no fear. Perhaps, I can learn something from him as well.

  15

  31 March 1942

  Commando School

  Achnacarry, Scotland

  • Commander of All Forces Aruba and Curacao, Netherlands West Indies, is established, Rear Adm. J. B. Oldendorf, U.S.N., commanding.

  The early morning exercise went off without a hitch. The Americans, including officers and non-coms, were mesmerized by the skill and determination of the commandos in rowing their small rubber rafts straight onto the shore and somehow securing them in the high surf at the edge of a very large and tall rock face. Within a few minutes, two commandos were climbing the rock face with their bare hands and carrying large loops of ropes they would use to secure on the top of the rock formation and drop it to the waiting commandos below.

  The initial climb took what James thought was at least ten or maybe fifteen minutes, but Atwood assured him it lasted for five to six minutes maximum. Any longer would increase the chance of being discovered. When the two men were at the top, they secured the long ropes and dropped them over the side to the men below. These men climbed the rock face quickly since the rope acted as a guide and a tool for the ascent. Each man had large bags of equipment including explosives and weapons which added to the effort required.

  The ten men at the bottom were all up to the summit in less than five minutes and had fanned out to their designated positions. The target was three bunkers on top of a hill less than a quarter mile away, and the commandos quickly got to within one hundred yards of the targets. Two men approached each bunker carrying their explosives while the others set up positions to fight any enemy who might come out of the bunker or who may have been outside on guard duty. The charges were set, and the commandos moved back two hundred yards from the bunkers as they exploded.

  The actual damage was limited because they didn’t want to use the amount of explosives it would take to destroy the target but enough to show the mission was a success. The men quickly headed for the ropes at the top of the rock face, rappelling down to the boats, quickly put them back into the rough seas, and began rowing toward the other shore where the exercise had begun. The entire maneuver from landing the boats to the final retreat to the waiting boats took less than one hour. Vaughn and the training officer for the commando unit agreed the mission was a success.

  Jameson, Flannigan, and Brand were very impressed with the sheer determination it took to climb the cliff and then move quickly and silently to the objective. They saw through their binoculars the use of hand signals and the immediate response to these signals from the commandos. Each man, Flannigan later stated in his report, knew exactly what he was supposed to do and what every other man was to do as well. The Commando School taught this concept to ensure that no one casualty would stop a mission.

  When they returned to the Castle at Achnacarry, a message was waiting for Captain Jameson to call Admiral Ghormley’s office and talk to his chief of staff, Captain Pearson. Everyone else went out to the parade ground to observe the hand-to-hand training under the watchful eye of Captain Fairbairn. James asked approval to watch the class along with Flannigan and the others. Jameson told him to go ahead while he waited to place his call to London. Even with his priority and the priority of Colonel Vaughn, he knew getting a call through from the middle of nowhere would take time. He was also unsure of what the admiral wanted but thought it best if he responded quickly.

  The two American officers walked out to the end of the parade ground where the trainees assembled in ranks of two and the Americans assembled behind the trainees. Flannigan and Brand walked to the side of the group so not to interfere. Atwood soon joined them and whispered to his old friend, “Do you remember ever seeing Fairbairn’s Flying Squad raid a bar in Shanghai and pity the poor bastard who resisted?” Flannigan nodded his head to affirm his memory of the event. “Well, wait till you see the old man run these poor bastards through the ringer. Not one man in one hundred can touch him. He is still the king in my books.”

  Fairbairn began his instruction with his favorite quote. “Now listen men, in war if you want to win you do not care about the rules. There are no rules when you are fighting in the gutter. It is kill or be killed.”

  He turned to the recruits who saw an old man. His arms were exposed with his sleeves upturned in the British manner. Everyone noticed numerous scars up and down both arms, the result of hundreds of fights, some with knives, some with rods, even with sticks. He had seen them all and knew how to counter the thrust of the attacker, take him down, and if need be, kill him. He then explained what they were going to do this cool day in Scotland.

  “I will attempt to provide you with some skills in the use of the knife and how you can use it to kill a man, silently and without a whisper. I will also show you how to disarm a man with a knife, a rifle or a pistol. The key to this is movement, deception, and speed. You may not think you possess these traits, but you can learn them. So, let’s begin.”

  He had the twelve British trainees get in two lines, and each man had a wooden knife. At Fairbairn’s command, he told them to attack each other but be careful. Since all the men had some previous training in this type of combat before coming to the Commando School, the attacks were well carried out. There was much tussling on the ground until someone gave up. The old man walked around the area and had them all stand. He walked up to one lad who had done the best and told him to come forward. When he did, Fairbairn gave him a real knife, one of the commando knives designed by Fairbairn and his Shanghai police associate, Eric Sykes, who also taught at the Commando School. He told the trainee to come at him and try to stick him.

  The commando did what he was told and rushed the old policeman who quickly parried the thrust, knocked him flat on his back, took the knife away, and was ready to plunge it into his chest all in the matter of a few seconds. The trainees were very impressed but not as much as Brand who intently studied the movements and the motions Fairbairn used to disarm the would-be attacker.

  Fairbairn steadied himself, helping his would-be attacker to his feet and said, “Good lad, sorry you’re now dead, but a good attempt.”

  As the man walked back to join the others, the old Shanghai policeman spoke in a strong loud voice. “Listen, men, if you want to live you need to be able to kill your opponent before he kills you. I teach gutter fighting. Down, dirty, bloody, and without remorse. There is no time to feel sorry for the man you are trying to kill. I do not want you to think about his wife, child, sister, or mum. Killing is what I teach, and if you learn to do it my way, you might just bloody well survive this war. Now, who wants to try this again? This time I will slow it down a bit.” This time Corporal Williams raised his hand and came forward. Fairbairn shook his hand and gave him the knife.

  Williams came at Fairbairn with the knife low and did not jab at first but did a bit of a slow dance around the old man. Then he jumped with surprising speed for a man of almost six feet, but it was for naught. The old policeman dropped him with a swift kick to the gut, then wrenched his knife hand, almost dislocating his shoulder.

  “Well done attack, Yank. You must have had some practice in Shanghai because I have seen that move before.” He pulled up Williams who smiled at the old man. Fairbairn shook his hand and gave him a bit of a pat on the shoulder.

  “Now, what you just saw was a well thought out attack by a veteran gutter fighter. I think he learned it from one of my men in Shanghai, right Corporal?”

  “Yes sir, at the Bright Moon Tavern near the Bund, sir. One of your Chinese officers, Wong Xi, I believe was his name, but we called him Big Wong.” Everyone laughed at the joke including Fairbairn.

  “Good man, Wong. He was one of my early trainees and quite proficient as you are, Corporal.” He then looked at the trainees. “Men, this Marine had some good experiences in
what I taught people to survive in old Shanghai. It is a good thing that the corporal remembered his training and not his activities at that particular bar, which if I recall we shut down many times.”

  All the men were laughing at the old police captain’s comment. Then he got serious again. “Now men, let me show you a few moves to help you first defend yourself from a knife attack and then we will go to the attack mode.”

  Over the course of the next hour, several moves were shown and practiced by everyone, including Flannigan and Brand. This instruction was very helpful, and Flannigan thought it should be included in all Marine training, especially for the new First Marine Division now forming in North Carolina. If any unit were going to see combat soon, it would be this group assembling from standing regiments and battalions across the country. This division was the first in the history of the United States Marines. During the last war, a Marine brigade was the largest independent unit formed, and it became a part of an army division in the latter stages of the war.

  Finally, the training progressed to attack instead of defense. Fairbairn explained the difference by saying the attack mode required more stealth than skill because you wanted to fight dirty and not give the other person a chance to defend themselves. He showed ways to sneak up from behind, grab a man and cut his throat which silenced any alarm. He also demonstrated the quickest way to take down a man by making sure you hit major arteries in the leg or arm and neck area. Thrusting into the rib cage was a specialty he employed and was one of the reasons he designed his knife so it would pass through the rib cage into vital organs. When he was through with the demonstration, he asked for one more volunteer. Before Flannigan could stop him, Brand stepped forward.

  “Lieutenant, do you want to participate?”

  “Yes sir, I think you have shown me some interesting moves, and I would like to practice them.”

  Fairbairn looked over at Atwood who nodded his head in agreement and then he proceeded to give Brand the knife.

  “Sir, if it’s all right with you, I would like you to have the knife, and I will defend.”

  Fairbairn did not disagree but thought it an odd response from this young man in the navy uniform who had not been at the Commando School at all. The lieutenant looked bookish but was tall and appeared strong. Fairbairn was surprised the young man wanted to get on the ground and get dirty but thought it might be of help for the young man to eat some turf.

  Fairbairn asked if Brand was ready. Brand nodded, and the men slowly circled, keeping three or four feet between them. Fairbairn was looking for a way to close in, but the young American had cat-like quickness and seemed to anticipate his moves. Fairbairn decided to do a feint to the right and go up the center at the young man and when he moved it was very fast indeed. But not quite fast enough. Brand sensed the movement and heeled to the right and then kicked up and outward with his left leg hitting the old man in the stomach, which was very hard indeed. Fairbairn stopped in mid-lunge, and even though he was dazed, he was not broken. So once again he moved in the circle as everyone watched in amazement that the young navy officer was still standing.

  Fairbairn then moved left, right and forward with great speed keeping the knife low. Brand anticipated and kicked high to the right thigh of the old Shanghai policeman, then with his right leg he swept the other leg out, causing Fairbairn to fall. Just as quickly, Brand had the knife in his hand and his arm around the neck of the man on the ground. Fairbairn gasped for air, and Brand let go jumping to his feet, not in victory but with concern for hitting the old man so hard.

  “Hamlin get over here,” Brand yelled as the old man was still on the ground.

  Fairbairn looked up at the young man and breathing very heavily said, “Where in the hell did you learn those moves, Lieutenant? Brilliant attack, bloody brilliant. Help me up, will you?”

  Brand looked down at him as Pharmacist Mate Hamlin kneeled beside Fairbairn, “Just hold on for a minute, sir, let the doc look at you. I’m sorry that I knocked you so hard. I didn’t mean to cause you pain, sir, believe me.”

  Fairbairn sat up with the help of Hamlin and gave the thumbs up signal to Brand and the two Marine officers who had run up to help. “No problem getting up gents, just seems to have hurt my ego, plus I may need a stiff drink shortly.”

  He looked at the other two officers and smiled and then looking at Brand said, “Young man, you have done what few others have ever accomplished. You knocked me down fair and square. I failed to appreciate your prowess after my first move. I am very impressed and want to talk to you about your training. If you could show me a few of those moves, I would be most grateful.”

  The officers pulled Fairbairn up and looked at the amazed trainees who had heard so much about the master of hand-to-hand combat. The elderly former Shanghai policeman then looked at the trainees and slowly said, “Listen up men, I just made a mistake, and it is the one that many a man makes. Never underestimate your opponent. Never think you are better than him or more clever. Mistakes like this will kill you just as sure as a German bullet.”

  As the officers walked back to the castle, Fairbairn and Brand engaged in a lively conversation with all sorts of hand movements and gestures. When questioned again, James explained his martial arts training was under the watchful eye of his mentor at Cal Tech, Professor Tomoguchi, who was now serving as a Japanese language instructor for the army.

  Watching what had happened, Sergeant Laird asked Gunnery Sergeant Jones, “Gunny, I have seen the lieutenant do his training thing back in Washington, but I never knew he was that quick and that good. The old man knows what he’s doing, and I would have never thought our golden boy was that fast.”

  The gunny looked at the officers getting closer to the door of the castle, and then he turned to his friend, “He’s an amazing young man and full of surprises, but that’s why we are here, although I’m not too sure who is protecting who.”

  Laird smiled and quickly agreed. The two senior non-coms collected the rest of the team and headed to their quarters to clean up and maybe even get a shower before dinner. The NCO club at this post was quite nice, and even though the beer was warm, or rather room temperature, it was cheap.

  16

  1 April 1942

  United States Embassy

  London, England

  • Pacific War Council holds its first meeting at Washington, D.C. Members include United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, and China.

  The officers of the team met for dinner at the Commando School where Jameson told the others they were ordered to London. Admiral Ghormley had received an invitation for the team to meet with the commander of Coastal Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Phillip Joubert de le Ferté on April 2. He was one of the key people they wanted to meet. Specifically, the team wanted to discuss the anti-submarine operations and some of the new initiatives in attacking the Germans in the Bay of Biscay before the U-boats crossed into the Atlantic. The admiral also informed Jameson about meeting with Lord Mountbatten’s planners to examine some of Combined Operations recent activities and discuss the involvement of U.S. personnel in future campaigns.

  The British would have a plane available at Glasgow on the afternoon of April 1. If the science team could catch the flight, the admiral would confirm the meetings. He also told Jameson that he had received a request from Admiral Willson for the team to return to the United States as soon as possible for undisclosed reasons.

  Jameson asked Captain Atwood to see if they could make arrangements for the team to catch the train from Fort William to Glasgow. Atwood made a few calls and the early morning train would be made available for their use. He also arranged to have a truck and staff car meet the train for the short trip to the nearby airport.

  Flannigan was sad to leave the Commando School believing this was the best and most realistic training he’d ever received. He also enjoyed meeting up with his old friend Atwood, and they had several drinks at the officer’s club to strengthen their r
elationship. All the Marines were ready to go in the morning, and Atwood saw them off at the train station. The Americans agreed that even though the training was hard, it was something they had signed up for years ago and thought this was their real job, not running about the world protecting a couple of navy officers. But, they followed orders and wondered what they might find back in London.

  The train trip was uneventful, and it was only a bit late in getting into Glasgow. A Royal Marine sergeant was waiting at the station with a truck and a staff car and whisked the Americans off to the airport. They were flying on an RAF Lockheed Hudson configured as a transport so that it could hold fourteen people and their baggage. The RAF pilot was quite keen to get going because of low ceilings in the area. He informed them of a front moving in from the north, and if they did not leave soon, they would be in Glasgow for at least a day longer. There was no dissent from the Americans who quickly loaded the plane, and it roared off on its southward journey. The Lockheed was quite speedy and flew at a cruising speed of two hundred miles per hour. It was also quite maneuverable and climbed much more rapidly than the R4D or the PBY they had flown on previously.

  When they arrived outside of London, Brand was pleased to see Margret was there with two trucks and her staff car to take the men back to the embassy. She smiled broadly at James. She quickly saluted Jameson and Flannigan and asked about their trips around the United Kingdom. The talk in the car centered on what was happening at the embassy, and she was already aware of the time for the meeting with the Coastal Command people the next morning. When they arrived at the embassy, everyone except Brand quickly walked into the building.

  James and Margret just stood there and smiled at each other, with the gunny looking up and down the street to ensure his man was secure. The gunny wished he could just find these two lovebirds a hotel to shack up in so he could get some sleep. They continued talking until Jameson came back out to get Brand and invited Margret to join them for dinner in the embassy. She quickly agreed and entered the building and helped James move all his belongings and records into his room. When they entered the room, they quickly hid behind the door and embraced and kissed as only two young lovers could. There were no words exchanged, just the emotion of the moment.