by Griff Hosker
Well I shall go now. Little Billy has just woken up. Please, our Bill, continue to write. Just because you have a young lady is no reason to forget your own family.
Your loving mother
xxx
When I had read it I folded it and returned it to its envelope. Kissing the envelope I said, “Dearest mother; as though I could ever forget you.”
I sipped some of my whisky and opened Sarah’s.
June 28th
Burscough Hall
Dear Bill,
I was relieved when our Alice told me that she had spoken to you and you were not badly wounded. We all think the world of you up here. It is not just the family that think highly of you. Her ladyship is always singing your praises. You probably didn’t know it but many of the girls on the estate had their heart set on you. I think their hearts were broken when we told them about your new young lady. You dark horse, you! I am pleased for you. Her ladyship and Alice told me what a nice girl she is. Ignore Mother’s comments. You were always her favourite. Beatrice will have to be special to match up to her expectations!
Mother might be a little happier soon. Her ladyship has a surprise. She has contacts in London and has arranged to have a proper copy of the photograph of you with the King. We are going to give it to her on her 60th birthday. (That is September the 1st in case you have forgotten!)
We now notice the war at home. It is lucky that we produce so much food for ourselves. The shelves in the shops are empty now. It is those U-Boats! They are strangling this country!
Cedric is the only man left on the estate and dad still has to work. Some of the snide comments people make about Cedric upset him. They know better than to make them while I am around or they would get the sharp edge of my tongue. Our family has done enough. I have lost two brothers already and my other two brothers are both heroes.
Your nephew grows bigger day by day. Mother swears she can see you in him. I am not so certain but it pleases her.
You take care, brother. You know we love you. I know we rarely say it but that is how we feel. Dad, in particular, misses you. He said to me that with you and Bert away there is an ache in his heart. It almost brings me to tears. Try not to be the hero all the time. I want to be at your wedding!
Your sister,
Sarah,
xxx
I found myself becoming emotional as I read that. I realised just how much I missed my family. I folded the letter, returned it to the envelope and kissed it.
I held Beatrice’s letter. I was afraid to open it. I had poured my heart out to her. Suppose she had had second thoughts? Suppose she had met someone else? There must be far better looking young officers with better prospects coming through the doors of the hospital all the time. I finished the whisky off and poured a second one. It was just to delay opening the letter.
“Stop being a bloody fool and open it! Better to know one way or the other!”
My fellow officers would think that I had finally cracked hearing me talking to myself. I lay down on the bed and opened the envelope with a knife. Bates was correct, this letter was perfumed. I held the folded letter in my hand. I had to force myself to open it.
Hyde Park,
June 30th 1916
Dearest Bill,
This is the first chance I have had to write to you since you left so quickly. I have come to the chestnut tree under which we sat on those blissful afternoons. I like to come here as it makes me seem closer to you.
I know you said many things before you left and I hope that you meant them. However if you were just playing with my affections then I would like to thank you for the lovely times we had. I will be waiting for a letter to let me know how you feel now that you are back in the war.
Whatever you decide I will understand.
I have had tea with your sister and I think she is lovely. She thinks the world of you. I am an only child and I miss what you have, a loving family who are close to you.
I hope and pray that you are keeping safe. We read in the newspapers about the terrible casualties and I see many of the results of the war. I could not bear to think of you dying over there or anywhere for that matter.
I decided I would keep this letter bright and breezy but I cannot. I have to tell you that I love you deeply and dearly. I cannot imagine life without you. I know that we have only known each other a short time but I knew the instant you looked at me that you were the man I wanted to spend my life with. I hope that you feel the same way too.
I shall go now because people are looking at me beneath this tree bawling my eyes out.
Your loving Beatrice,
xxx
xx
x
I found my own eyes filling up. I hoped she had received my letter. I resolved to write another one. I could not bear the thought or her being so upset over me. I was not worth it.
I re-read the letter four or five times. There was a knock at my door and Bates stood there. He was beaming; was he a clairvoyant?
“There you are sir. Now you look happier. Let’s get you dressed for dinner!”
He hummed as he dressed me. “Will there be anything else sir?”
I said, sincerely, “No, Bates, you have done more than enough for me for today.”
He flicked a piece of fluff from my jacket. “My pleasure, sir. My pleasure.”
Out lost little chicks had returned and they all came to see me. Lieutenant Morley said, “We owe our lives to you and Sergeant Hutton. Thank you, sir. How on earth did you manage in that ancient aeroplane?”
“So long as you have a gun and some skill you can work wonders you know. And the Avro is not a bad aeroplane. I learned to fly in that very one.”
I had an early night and wrote a long and heartfelt letter to Beatrice. I had a future to plan.
Chapter 13
As my bus was ready to fly I sought out Percy Richardson the armourer. “Sergeant Richardson, I would like a second Lewis fitting on my aeroplane.”
“You have three already on your bus sir!”
“I know Senior Flight Sergeant but I sometimes do not have time to change the magazines. Two guns for me to use would make life easier. It won’t add too much weight and we have spares surely?”
He leaned into me and spoke confidentially. “The trouble is, Captain Harsker, that what you do one day they all want the next.”
“And what is the problem with that?”
He seemed flummoxed, “Well, where will it end?”
I grinned, “I have no idea so just do it Senior Flight Sergeant.”
I wandered over to the office. Captain Marshall’s smile met me at the door. “Morley and McCormack reported that the South Africans were singing our praises. It seems your timely attack broke the back to the enemy and they took it with fewer losses than they expected.”
“The case for arming at least one aeroplane in each flight with bombs is now proven. We are always finding targets and bombing is less risky than a strafing run.”
“I’ll put it to Archie but it seems like a good idea.” I filled my pipe. “Your brother said to say goodbye to you yesterday.” I jumped up as though he would still be there for me to speak with. “Don’t worry. He fully understood. He knew what you were doing was important. He really admires you, Bill.”
“I know. It is why he joined up and it makes me feel guilty. What if something happens to him? How could I live with myself?”
“You can’t live other people’s lives for them. It is fate. You just have to live your life the best that you can. And you do Bill. Believe me.”
“You are becoming quite the philosopher, Randolph.”
“I think it is the job. I am never in danger here and so I can think about the danger you boys are in. I can look at the war from a detached perspective. Believe me I wish I was up in the air with you chaps. I envy you your success. You seem to have a knack for this sort of thing.”
“I have no idea why. I just loved horses and joined the cavalry.”
I
finished off the flight’s paperwork and checked on the upcoming missions. I had the luxury of a morning free of any duties. I wandered down to the bus. I was not surprised to see Lumpy fiddling on with the engine.
“Problem Sergeant Hutton?”
“No sir. It was just when we were in the Avro yesterday I realised that it had a worse engine and yet there was only five knots between them. There must be potential in this beast that we are not harnessing. The Avro has a hundred and thirty horsepower but the Rolls Royce has a hundred and sixty.” He spread his arms. “We are going wrong somewhere.”
I took off my tunic and rolled up my sleeves. “You are right. Let’s see if we can beef this fine engine up. A few more knots would come in handy. These Fokkers are fast. When they develop them a little more then we will be in trouble.”
We worked all afternoon on the timing and the carburettor. We looked at the filters and the fuel supply. We would not know if we had succeeded until we flew but I was certain that it would have made some improvements.
“Another good day’s work, sir.”
It was the second time he had said that. “That is important to you isn’t it sergeant?”
He became serious. “Yes sir. It was drilled into us as kids by my dad. You had to do the best and producing a good day’s work regardless of others was important. It’s what I try to do every day. When I worked in that factory I always did my best. Some of the other lads didn’t but I went home every night feeling like a man. You feel better, don’t you sir; when you know you have done your best?”
He was right and it struck me that my father had said the same thing. They came from different backgrounds but they were both hard working English working class men and I was proud to come from that stock. They had been the stalwart bowmen who had faced the might of armoured horsemen at Crecy and Agincourt. They had stood in red lines at Waterloo and Balaclava and held off the greatest of armies. A hundred of them had stood at Isandlwana and fought off four thousand Zulus. It was that which would see us through this war and not the rhetoric of the politicians and newspapers.
When we did patrol, a day later, we were depleted in numbers. Archie flew with Gordy and his flight. I think Charlie Sharp had come to realise that he could command a flight as well as any. His flight had had the least casualties and damage; he led them well.
There was a stubborn streak in me and I asked for the Delville Wood sector again. The Hun knew who I was and I was not going to let them think they had won and frightened me away. Dunston and Giggs both had bomb racks fitted. We had devised a signal to use when I needed them to drop them. We would not land with bombs aboard. If we found no juicy targets we would drop them on the roads leading to the front.
We crossed the front at five thousand feet. “Arm your Lewis, Hutton.”
“Righto sir.”
I looked at the two Lewis guns before me and I armed them. Percy had done a good job and rigged them on the same frame. I could, if I wished fire both at once but that would necessitate me using my knees to fly. I did not expect to have to do that but it was an option. It just meant I did not need to reload and, in a pinch, that might be vital.
As I cocked the second one I heard Lumpy chuckle, “Nice bit of firepower there, sir. Perhaps I should ask for another one.”
“I think it would make the front a little too heavy, Hutton. Besides Senior Flight Sergeant Richardson might have a heart attack!”
“That’s not very nice sir, calling me heavy!” I heard the self deprecating tone and smiled. Lumpy could handle himself.
As we crossed the German lines I saw a line of vehicles ahead heading along the road towards the front. Closer to the front they used horses but, here, we were a mile or so from the German trenches. The vehicles were a good target. I signalled for Giggs and Dunston to attack while we watched for fighters. The two pilots were two hundred feet apart and they strafed the column as they flew down the road. The gunners had spoken with Hutton and the first four bombs were hurled to the ground in quick succession. One made a direct hit on a German lorry. The others shredded the soft sides of the vehicles and threw shrapnel to scythe through the men cowering in the ditches. As they began their second run Hutton shouted, “Sir, up ahead, German fighters!”
Giggs and Dunston would have to join us when they had finished. I would have to take the Germans on with just Carrick and Fryer. As I looked ahead I frowned. They were not in their normal formation. They appeared to have copied us. There were six, what looked like Halberstadts, and they were in a single line. I immediately scanned the skies above for other fighters. The sky was cloud and fighter free. It was not an ambush. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but I was still wary.
“Sergeant, this looks odd. Be on your toes.”
“Righto sir.”
Behind me I heard the explosions as the bombs struck and the stuttering fire of the Lewis guns. My other two pilots would soon be joining us but we would have to fight at odds of two to one until they did so. I edged the nose up slightly to gain as much altitude as I could. Surprisingly the Germans appeared to be flying straight and level. As they closed with us I could see that they were identical to us; they were in single file. Once they flew beyond us the gunners behind me would have the chance to down them and they would not be able to fire back at us. It looked as though they had made a mistake.
The first Hun held his fire. Hutton gave a burst with his Lewis. It was a good shot for I saw it strike the engine. When the German did fire it was obvious he was aiming at Hutton. As the German dived below us I heard Hutton shout, “Sir, they have hit it, the Lewis is buggered!”
“Take out your Lee Enfield!”
The second fighter was aiming at Hutton and I fired a long burst from the right hand Lewis. This time I managed to hit the propeller before it too dived below us. I heard the pop of the rifle as Hutton tried to hit the pilot. When the third German used the same tactic I could see that they had worked out that a head on attack might work if you took out the gunner. I almost emptied the first Lewis firing at the third Halberstadt. Behind me I could hear Laithwaite’s gun as he fired on the diving Halberstadts. I had no time to worry if they were attempting the Immelmann Turn. I had to stop them from killing my gunner.
I could almost see the exultation on the face of the pilot of the fourth Halberstadt. He must have thought we were defenceless. I gripped the left hand Lewis and held my fire. His bullets zipped around my head. As he dipped his nose to correct his line of fire I gave him a burst with the Lewis. His manoeuvre had taken away the protection of his engine and my burst struck him in the chest. This time it did not dive but continued in its death glide to Delville Woods.
The next aeroplane fired from further away; the pilot was obviously shaken by our ability to continue firing. I fired a very short burst but his early dive meant I hit nothing. The last German had a yellow painted propeller and seemed determined. I did not know where his companions had gone but the sound of gun fire behind me was a good indication that my flight was engaging them. As he began to fire I dipped my nose slightly and fired at the same time. My bullets struck the engine and propeller. The Halberstadt’s engine began to scream and Hutton took the opportunity to fire at the pilot. We both saw the pilot clutch his left arm and, as he began to bank away, the pilot saluted us. I had neither the time nor the inclination to return the salute and I banked to head west again. I was anxious to see my flight.
I was relieved to see them all intact. The downed German was burning on the ground and I could see the others limping east. Their attempt had been clever but my extra gun and the resolute crews behind me had seen them off. I headed west over the road which was still covered with burning vehicles and dying men. It had been another successful mission.
When we landed, everyone crowded around the front of our bus. The Lewis gun had taken all of the German’s bullets and was damaged beyond repair. It had, however, saved Hutton’s life. In its shredded and mangled state it had protected my sergeant a
s he had used his rifle to fire at the fighters.
He smiled at me, “Well sir, I think I owe you and Mr Lewis here. That’s as close as I want to come to joining the angels!”
Archie and Randolph were equally concerned about the German tactics. Archie shook his head. “Tomorrow we give you a different sector. First we had that German wanting to fight a duel with you and then we have an ambush for your flight. Your luck will run out one day, Bill.”
“The second Lewis works a treat though, sir. It doesn’t detract from the performance and the extra firepower gives us an edge. I fired at six Huns and I did not need to change a magazine.”
Captain Marshall chuckled, “Senior Flight Sergeant Richardson has already been in here warning me that we might need some more Lewis guns. I have passed a requisition on to Mr Doyle who, by the way, has made good his promise. He had some carts this morning bringing in more furniture. It isn’t new but we will all get to sit in comfort in the mess.”
It was more comfortable to be able to sit with a little space between us. I sat with Ted and Gordy. I did not see much of Charlie Sharp these days. He had taken to his role as Flight Commander like a duck to water. He would sit with his pilots and I noticed that he listened more than he spoke. He would know his men inside out and that could make all the difference in a pinch. It was obviously working for this was another day where they had suffered minimal damage and no casualties.
Gordy folded his letter and put it in his tunic pocket. “How is Mary?”
He frowned, “The Germans have been bombing London. She is quite worried.“ He tapped the pocket containing the letter. “She doesn’t say so but I can read between the lines.” He smiled, “She says she had arranged to meet your young lady. They were going somewhere up west for tea.”