by Griff Hosker
“But sir!”
Captain Ebbs picked up his swagger stick and slashed Hutton across the face. “Silence, you German swine.”
I tried to rise but hatchet face had me pinned to my seat. “Sit down before I knock your bloody head off!”
I breathed slowly and gathered myself. I saw the hatred in Hutton’s eyes. “We are two RFC air crew. We were shot down near to Ypres and we made our way to Ostend where we stole a boat and escaped. We were damaged in a storm and rescued by the Black Prince.”
“A cleverly rehearsed story but you are dealing with a superior mind here. This is just the sort of trick the Hun would come up with.” He tapped the swagger stick on the desk. If he tried to hit me with it he would find himself eating it. “I am having a firing squad convened and you will be shot at dawn.”
The lieutenant who had been looking increasingly uncomfortable said, “Sir, don’t you think we ought to telephone London to confirm his identity? He may be telling the truth. He does not sound German and his story makes sense.”
“Nonsense Lieutenant White, you are too naïve and trusting. These two are spies and we will shoot them.” He picked up the swagger stick. I had had enough. I pulled my right arm forward and elbowed the hatchet faced sergeant between the legs. He went down as though pole axed. I whipped out my gun and held it to the forehead of Captain Ebbs. Hutton took out his Luger and covered my back. “Listen you pathetic excuse for an officer. I am Captain Harsker MC of 41 Squadron and in a moment I am going to leave here with Sergeant Hutton. I will happily shoot you or anyone else who tries to stop us.”
“I’ll have you court martialed for this!”
I laughed, “I have lived through one before and that was from someone just like you!” I cocked the Webley. “Perhaps I ought to do the world a favour and finish you now.” He went white.
The lieutenant knelt down and picked up my tunic. He held it triumphantly in the air. “I thought I recognised you sir.” He turned to Captain Ebbs “Sir, this is the officer who received the Military Cross from King George and the Legion D’Honneur.” He pointed to the ribbons.
“I er, well, er I mean you can see why I...”
I holstered the Webley. “No I can’t! A word of advice Captain… resign and find somewhere far away to hide. When this war is over I am going to come and get you.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Of course I am, you pathetic little man.” I grabbed the swagger stick and used it to lift the hatchet faced sergeant to his feet. I put my face close to his. “And the same goes for you Sergeant. I have seen too many good men die. You pair are neither good nor men. Now out of my way.” He limped to the side with hatred in his eyes. I handed the swagger stick to Hutton who snapped it in two and threw it towards the shocked and apoplectic captain.
“Lieutenant, you seem to have some sense. Could you get your driver to take us to a hospital? My friend here needs stitches.”
Glancing at the captain who remained speechless he said, “I’ll drive you sir, in my car. I am off duty now.”
Once in the car I said, “Ask for a transfer Lieutenant before you become like him.”
“I have been trying sir but he always refuses me permission.” He sighed, “I wanted to be a pilot.”
“Then ring General Henderson and say you spoke to me. He is desperate for young men who have something about them.”
He brightened, “I will do sir.”
“And get in touch with your headquarters and tell them everything that went on tonight. I wouldn’t want you in trouble as well.”
“Right sir, I will and thank you.”
The hospital was in Norwich. When the doctor saw Hutton’s face and heard our story he was appalled. The nurse took Hutton away to dress the wound and he looked at me. “You don’t look too good either, captain.”
The pain killer had worn off a long time ago and I was in pain. “I have to admit that I don’t feel too grand, doctor.”
I began to feel faint. He and the nurse caught me and laid me on a bed. He thrust a thermometer in my mouth. When it came out he shouted, “Get theatre ready! This man has an infection.” He looked at me. “This should have been dealt with as soon as you landed. You are in danger of losing your arm.”
A team of nurses swarmed over me. My clothes were removed, almost painlessly and an operating gown put on me. The doctor injected my arm. “Count backwards from ten, Captain Harsker.”
I reached four and then all went black.
Epilogue
When I awoke there was a nurse standing over me. She smiled. “You are a lucky man, Captain Harsker. There was some material in the break in your arms and it was infected. A delay of an hour more and your arm would have had to be removed. As it is it is touch and go if you are out of the woods yet. The doctor is a brilliant man and you will be in good hands.”
She turned to go and I grabbed her hand, “Nurse, could you do me a favour?”
“If I can.”
“Get me a pen and paper please.” As she went to the nurse’s station I saw Hutton asleep in a chair. “How long has he been here?”
“Since you came out of surgery. He refused a bed and said he needed to watch over you. That is real loyalty, Captain Harsker.”
I wrote down Beatrice’s address and the hospital telephone number on the paper. “This is my young lady. Could you tell her where I am, she is a nurse.”
“Of course Captain Harsker, it will be my pleasure.”
As she left and the door slammed Hutton sat bolt upright in his chair. He grinned when he saw me sitting up. ”I was right worried about you, sir. They were all flying around like chickens without heads.”
“Well I am fine now so please use the bed they have given you. You were closer to death than I was.”
He stood, stretched and yawned. “You look better sir, so I will. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Sergeant Hutton, and thank you for caring.”
“Where else could I get a pilot I have trained so well sir? It’s in my interest to keep you healthy.”
After he had left I tried to rise but another nurse came in. ”And where do you think you are going to?”
“I was going to stretch my legs.”
She wagged a finger at me. “Here, the doctor said to give you this. Take it and get some sleep. You need it!”
I did as I was told and the tablet began to work. I just closed my eyes and soon I was asleep. I had my falling dream again and wondered what it meant.
When I woke I could smell the nurse in the room. I opened my eyes and looked up into the smiling face of Beatrice. She leaned down and kissed me. “As soon as Matron heard you were wounded again she granted me compassionate leave and I caught the first train up here that I could. Until you are well I am not taking my eyes off you.”
She kissed me again, “And that is the best medicine I could have. I will be looked after by an angel.”
The End
Glossary
BEF- British Expeditionary Force
Beer Boys-inexperienced fliers (slang)
Blighty- Britain (slang)
Boche- German (slang)
Bowser- refuelling vehicle
Bus- aeroplane (slang)
Corned dog- corned beef (slang)
Craiglockhart- A Victorian building taken over by the military and used to treat shell shocked soldiers. Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen both spent time there.
Crossley- an early British motor car
Dewar Flask- an early Thermos invented in 1890
Donkey Walloper- Horseman (slang)
Fizzer- a charge (slang)
Foot Slogger- Infantry (slang)
Google eyed booger with the tit- gas mask (slang)
Griffin (Griff)- confidential information (slang)
Hun- German (slang)
Jasta- a German Squadron
Jippo- the shout that food was ready from the cooks (slang)
Kanone 14- 10cm German artillery piece
K
illick- Leading seaman (slang-Royal Navy)
Lanchester- a prestigious British car with the same status as a Rolls Royce
Loot- a second lieutenant (slang)
Lufbery Circle- An aerial defensive formation
M.C. - Military Cross (for officers only)
M.M. - Military Medal (for other ranks introduced in 1915)
Nelson’s Blood- rum (slang- Royal Navy)
Nicked- stolen (slang)
Number ones- Best uniform (slang)
Oblt. - Oberlieutenant (abbr.)
Oppo- workmate/friend (slang)
Outdoor- the place they sold beer in a pub to take away (slang)
Parkin or Perkin- a soft cake traditionally made of oatmeal and black treacle, which originated in northern England.
Pop your clogs- die (slang)
Posser- a three legged stool attached to a long handle and used to agitate washing in the days before washing machines
Pickelhaube- German helmet with a spike on the top. Worn by German soldiers until 1916
Scousers- Liverpudlians (slang)
Shufti- a quick look (slang)
Scheiße- Shit (German)
Singer 10 - a British car developed by Lionel Martin who went on to make Aston Martins
The smoke- London (slang)
Toff- aristocrat (slang)
V.C. - Victoria Cross, the highest honour in the British Army
Maps
Map courtesy of Wikipedia
Battle of the Somme
Courtesy of Wikipedia –Public Domain
Map of the Somme battlefield, 1916, showing the frontline before the three major offensives of 1 & 14 July and 15 September as well as the final frontline at the end of the battle of 18 November. Based on a map from A Short Military History of World War I - Atlas, edited by T. Dodson Stamps and Vincent J. Esposito, 1950. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Gsl.
Historical note
This is my third foray into what might be called modern history. The advantage of the Dark Ages is that there are few written records and the writer’s imagination can run riot- and usually does! If I have introduced a technology slightly early or moved an action it is in the interest of the story and the character. The FE 2 is introduced a month or so before the actual aeroplane. The Red Baron is shot down six weeks before he really was. I have tried to make this story more character based. I have used the template of some real people and characters who lived at the time.
The Short Magazine Lee Enfield had a ten shot magazine and enabled a rifleman to get off 20-30 shots in a minute. It was accurate at 300 yards. Both cavalry and infantry were issued with the weapon.
For those readers who do not come from England I have tried to write the way that people in that part of Lancashire speak. As with many northerners they say ‘owt’ for anything and ‘eeh’ is just a way of expressing surprise. As far as I know there is no Lord Burscough but I know that Lord Derby had a huge house not far away in Standish and I have based the fictitious Lord Burscough on him. The area around Burscough and Ormskirk is just north of the heavily industrialised belt which runs from Leeds, through Manchester, to Liverpool. It is a very rural area with many market gardens. It afforded me the chance to have rural and industrial England, cheek by jowl. The food they eat is also typical of that part of Lancashire. Harsker is a name from the area apparently resulting from a party of Vikings who settled in the area some centuries earlier. Bearing in mind my earlier Saxon and Viking books I could not resist the link, albeit tenuous, with my earlier novels.
The rear firing Lewis gun was not standard issue and was an improvised affair. Below is a photograph of one in action.
The photograph demonstrates the observer's firing positions in the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2d. The observer's cockpit was fitted with three guns, one or two fixed forward-firing for the pilot to aim, one moveable forward-firing and one moveable rear-firing mounted on a pole over the upper wing. The observer had to stand on his seat in order to use the rear-firing gun.
This artistic work created by the United Kingdom Government is in the public domain. This is because it is one of the following:
It is a photograph created by the United Kingdom Government and taken prior to 1 June 1957; or
It was commercially published prior to 1964; or
It is an artistic work other than a photograph or engraving (e.g. a painting) which was created by the United Kingdom Government prior to 1964. HMSO has declared that the expiry of Crown Copyrights applies worldwide.
An F.E.2 without armament
This image is in the public domain because the copyright has expired. This applies to Australia, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.
Baron Von Richthofen was actually shot down by an FE 2 during the later stages of the Battle of the Somme. In this novel it is Bill who has that honour. The Red Baron is portrayed as the pilot of the Halberstadt with the yellow propeller. Of course the Red Baron got his revenge by shooting down the leading British ace of the time, Major Lanoe Hawker VC. Hawker, was flying the DH2 while the Red Baron flew the superior Albatros D111. That is in the future. In this novel the best German fighter is the Albatros D1 and the Albatros D series gave the German superiority for the rest of the year.
The circle devised by Bill and Billy really existed. It was known as a Lufbery circle. The gunner of each F.E.2, could cover the blind spot under the tail of his neighbour and several gunners could fire on any enemy attacking the group. There were occasions when squadrons used this tactic to escape the Fokker monoplane and the later fighters which the Germans introduced to wrest air superiority from the Gunbus. It made for slow progress home but they, generally, got there safely.
The Immelmann Turn was named after the German Ace Max Immelmann who flew the Fokker E1. He was apparently shot down by an FE 2 although one theory is that his interrupter gear malfunctioned and he shot his own propeller off. I prefer the first theory. This is the Immelmann Turn as a diagram.
I have no evidence for Sergeant Sharp’s improvised bullet proofing. However they were very inventive and modified their aeroplanes all the time. The materials he used were readily available and, in the days before recycling, would have just been thrown away. It would be interesting to test it with bullets.
The Mills bomb was introduced in 1915. It had a seven second fuse. The shrapnel could spread up to twenty yards from the explosion.
Hulluch was the scene of the first German attack with gas. The Bavarian regiment attacked the British near to Loos. They had some forewarning of the attack as a German deserter told them and rats were seen leaving the German trenches. (A sure sign of leaking gas bottles.) The Germans had nearly as many men incapacitated as the British but the inferior nature of the British gas mask meant more deaths amongst the British. The bombing raid is pure fiction.
General Henderson commanded the RFC for all but a couple of months of the war. The Fokker Scourge lasted from autumn 1915 until February 1916. It took the Gunbus and other new aircraft to defeat them. The BE 2 aeroplanes were known as Fokker fodder and vast numbers were shot down. There were few true bombers at this stage of the war and the Gunbus was one of the first multi-role aeroplanes. The addition of the third Lewis gun did take place at this stage of the war. The Germans had to react to their lack of superiority and in the next book the pendulum swings in Germany’s favour when the Albatros DI11 and other new aircraft wrested control of the air away from the RFC,
More aeroplanes were shot down by ground fire than other aeroplanes and I have tried to be as realistic as I can but Bill Harsker is a hero and I portray him as such. He does achieve a high number of kills. Lanoe Hawker was the first ace to reach 40 kills and he died just at the end of the Somme Offensive. Bill is some way behind that figure.
The Somme Offensive July1st – 18th November 1916
The Somme Offensive was an absolute blood bath as the table lower down shows. However the RFC def
initely won the battle of the air and dominated the battlefield completely. It helped that the Kaiser had withdrawn his best pilot, Boelke after the death of Max Immelmann but the superior aircraft the British and allies possessed helped. On July 1st Major L W B Rees attacked ten two seater German aeroplanes winning a Victoria Cross in the process. The figures given for the Newfoundland Warwicks casualties are accurate as are the appalling first day casualties- 1000 officers and 20000 men dead in one day. By the end of the Somme offensive in November 1916, the RFC had lost 800 aircraft and 252 aircrew killed (all causes) since July 1916, with 292 tons of bombs dropped and 19,000 photographs taken.
The South African Division did take Delville Woods in the British push to Pozières. The German defenders were dug in the woods. The South Africans took over 2,500 casualties. I do not know if FE 2s bombed the woods but this period of the war did see total dominance of the skies by the RFC. Until Boelke formed Jasta 2 in late August (The Red Baron was one of his younger pilots) flying Albatros D111 the RFC totally dominated the Somme. After that the Germans ruled the skies until Spring 1917. In September 1916 the RFC lost 167 airmen. Training standards did plummet as airmen were rushed to replace dead pilots. At the end of 1916 the life expectancy of a young pilot was three weeks.
The Buckingham tracer ammunition was introduced at the end of August. The fighting around Delville Woods saw the re-emergence of the German aeroplanes and they nearly swung the battle in the German’s favour. Close contact between the aeroplanes and the ground repulsed the attacks and, by the 3rd of September they had secured the vital woods and surrounding area.
There was close cooperation between ground forces and the RFC. They used mirrors to signal and laid out sheets to mark their forward positions. Had the RFC not been so successful then there might have been less gains in the battle of the Somme.
Tanks were used for the first time but they were handled badly. They learned lessons which enabled them to be more successful at Cambrai in 1917. It is like the disaster of Dieppe in 1941 where the lessons led to the successful D Day landings.