Nancy relaxed and even managed a little laugh, knowing her mother’s insistence they eat on time. She gave a silent sigh of relief as a weight lifted from her shoulders. It had been silly to dread telling them because they were strong people and would deal with the loss of their son with courage and dignity. She must do the same, and support them in any way she could.
When Harry saw the boys, his gaze rested immediately on Steve, and a huge smile lit up his face. ‘Ah, lad, there’s no mistaking you are Rose and Bill’s son. My word, but it’s good to see you.’
‘And you, sir.’ Steve stepped forward and shook the hand of the man he had heard so much about but never met. ‘My folks asked me to look you up. They are worried because they haven’t heard from you for a while.’
‘I have written, and I sent one only last week, but you know how unpredictable the post can be, so I expect they’ll get them all at once.’ Harry looked at the other boys, who were standing by respectfully. ‘Introduce me to your friends, lad.’
Steve did so, and they were then bombarded with questions about how everyone was in Canada, and they in turn wanted to know everything about the air raids.
During a lull in the conversation Gladys stood up. ‘I can offer you boys a sandwich, but I haven’t enough to cook you all a meal, as much as I would like to.’
Luke was immediately on his feet. ‘We don’t expect you to feed us, ma’am. Is there somewhere we could get something to eat?’
‘Will the British Restaurant still be open, Harry? They know you and I’m sure they would be happy to serve these boys.’
‘I’ll take them down there and have something to eat with them, if you don’t mind, Glad?’
‘Not at all.’
‘That’s settled, then. Come on, lads, when we’ve had something to eat, I’ll show you around, and this evening we’ll go to the pub and have a right celebration.’ He slapped Steve on the back, grinning. ‘It’s terrific to have met you at last.’
‘As soon as they knew I was coming over here they insisted I look you up.’
‘It’s great you’ve been able to, and it’s lovely to hear all the news. We can’t say much in letters, you know.’
Steve nodded. ‘Yes, security is very strict, and that’s understandable.’
Harry ushered them out of the door. ‘You can all stay with me tonight. How long have you got, by the way? I didn’t ask.’
‘Only tomorrow and then we have to return to base,’ Rick explained. ‘We thought we’d spend tomorrow having a look round the West End. That’s the place to go, we’ve been told.’
They thanked Gladys for her kindness, and as they walked up the road, Ricky asked what a British Restaurant was.
‘They’ve been set up right across the country to provide meals for anyone who needs it. It’s difficult to make the rations last, and they are a godsend for the workers. The one by the docks is always busy, so we’ll have to queue.’ Harry gave the Canadians an amused glance. ‘That’s something you’ll have to get used to over here. We queue for everything.’
‘So we’ve been told.’ Steve chuckled. ‘But will they serve us, Harry?’
‘Of course. Those wings on your jacket will get you in anywhere. We’ve good reason to be grateful to the air force.’
‘I listened to the news, and it was that battle that made me decide to join the air force,’ Luke told him. ‘I hope I get the chance to examine a Spitfire one day.’
‘Well, you might, you never know.’ He glanced at Steve. ‘I know I shouldn’t ask questions, but where have you come from today?’
‘Lincolnshire.’
‘Ah.’ He nodded, that location telling him all he wanted to know. ‘How was the journey?’
‘Crowded, but interesting.’
‘I expect it was – quick, run! There’s the bus we need.’
They sprinted and just beat the bus to the stop. They went upstairs and Steve insisted on paying for all of them.
It was only a couple of stops and when Harry took them into the building they stopped in amazement. It was a long room with trestle tables filling every space, and an orderly queue of people collecting their meals.
A woman sitting at a table by the door greeted Harry. ‘Brought some friends with you this time, have you?’
He pulled Steve forward. ‘This is my cousin Rose’s lad and three of his friends. They’ve just arrived from Canada. I know it’s a bit late, Val, but they need feeding.’
She looked the youngsters over and laughed. ‘I don’t doubt that. They’ll need a main meal, pudding and a cup of tea, then. That will be ten pence each.’ She laid out different coloured tokens.
The boys looked at them, confused.
‘You hand the tokens over at the counter,’ she explained. ‘The blue one is for the main meal, this one for the pudding and the last colour is for a cup of tea.’
Luke dug in his pocket and pulled out a handful of coins. ‘I’ll pay for us all. Is this enough money?’
‘Far too much.’ She carefully took the correct money out of his hand. ‘Off you go, now, and join the queue.’
Luke studied the money left in his hand and frowned. ‘Have you taken enough?’
‘Yes, dear. As I said, it’s only ten pence each.’ She smiled at him.
Harry laughed quietly at Luke’s astonishment and urged them to the end of the line.
Once served, the hungry boys devoured the food without comment, and lit cigarettes to enjoy with their cups of tea.
‘I don’t need to ask what you thought of the meal,’ Harry remarked as he looked at the clean plates.
When they had all said politely that they had enjoyed it, Sandy leant forward and asked quietly, ‘What was it?’
‘Don’t ask, lad.’ Harry grinned and they all burst out laughing.
They spent an interesting afternoon being shown around the dock area, and although they could not go in, Harry found them a spot where they could see some of the ships.
‘A convoy has just arrived,’ he explained. ‘That’s the lifeblood of this country, lads.’
Steve nodded. ‘We came over with a large convoy escorted by battleships. Sailing time was delayed because of the late arrival of two ships, and our journey was uneventful, but we heard stories of what it had been like when the Wolf Packs had been operating.’
‘Thankfully, the navy and air force got the better of them and they began losing too many subs, but it’s still bloody dangerous out there.’
‘After Dunkirk, nobody believed this small island could survive,’ Luke remarked.
Harry snorted and laughed. ‘The thing was, nobody told us that!’
‘When anyone said that in front of Mum, she would tell them they didn’t know what they were talking about. She pointed out that Hitler would have to cross the Channel, and there was no way he was going to be allowed to do that.’
‘Ah, that sounds like my cousin. Living on an island is good in that respect, Steve, and when he couldn’t defeat our air force he had to change his mind.’ Harry studied the boys, knowing what they were here to do, and prayed silently that they would all survive.
They made their way back to the house where Harry produced scrambled egg on toast, and although it was made with powdered egg it was still eaten with gratitude. They were very concerned, though, that they were eating precious rations and were careful not to take second helpings.
After clearing the dishes, Harry glanced at the clock. ‘Right, lads, the pub is open so let’s go and have a bit of a celebration.’
The place was packed when they arrived, and the boys created a lot of interest as Harry introduced them to his friends from the docks, showing off Steve with pride.
‘I’ll get the drinks.’ Steve began to worm his way through the crowd towards the bar when hands caught hold of his arm.
‘No, lad, you go and sit down,’ Harry told him. ‘You don’t pay for anything tonight.’
‘That’s right,’ another man said. ‘You are our guests.’
>
Steve protested, but Harry and his friends insisted. Deciding he would try later, Steve eased his way back to his friends and sat down. ‘They won’t let us buy drinks, but we’ll see if we can get a chance later.’
They soon had a large crowd round them, and when a soldier got on the piano the place erupted into song.
The boys were wide-eyed with amazement. This was not what they had expected of war-torn London. They were soon singing along.
At one point in the evening, Steve and Sandy were able to push their way up to the bar and get a round of drinks for everyone. By that time they were all too merry to notice where the drinks were coming from.
Steve sat and watched the antics of the locals as the pianist began to play some of the cockney songs, and was soon roaring with laughter when Ricky got up and joined in with ‘Knees up Mother Brown’.
After closing time, they made their way back to Harry’s, still laughing about the evening, a little unsteady on their feet.
‘That was quite a night,’ Ricky declared, doing a little dance.
Steve reached out to steady his friend when he nearly walked into a lamp post. ‘Watch where you’re going.’
‘Ooops! Why is it so dark?’
‘There’s a blackout,’ Luke told him. ‘You know how the smallest lights can be seen from the air.’
‘Course I do. Just forgot where I was for a moment.’
‘Good heavens, and he’s our navigator,’ Steve declared jokingly. ‘Do you think we had better find someone else, Luke?’
‘Might be an idea.’
‘Hey, I’m the best you can get.’ Ricky draped his arm across their shoulders. ‘You are going to need me, my friends.’
The mention of what was in front of them was like being drenched in a bucket of cold water, and they sobered up. They all started when they heard a rumbling sound behind them and gaped in astonishment as several of Harry’s friends came past them, rolling a barrel of beer.
‘Come on, lads, we ain’t finished yet,’ one of the men called.
They all piled into the house, including some of the neighbours, who were not going to miss a party. It turned out to be a night the boys would never forget.
Chapter Five
It was five o’clock in the morning when someone shook Steve awake and he saw Harry bending over him.
‘I’m off to work now, lad,’ he whispered.
Steve dragged himself out of bed and went to the kitchen so he could talk without waking his friends. It was only a small two-bedroom house so they had all shared the same room.
‘Thanks for coming, Steve. It’s been good to see you. I’m sorry Sybil wasn’t here, but we’ll all get together at some time. Come again when you can, and bring those bright lads with you as well.’
‘I don’t think they are going to be too bright this morning, after the night we’ve just had.’
Harry chuckled and gave Steve a bear hug, then stepped back, serious. ‘You take care, and keep in touch.’
‘I’ll come again as soon as possible, and will certainly bring my friends with me. They won’t let me come without them,’ he joked.
‘I must be off. Enjoy the rest of your leave. Oh, and Gladys will be in later to give you some breakfast.’
‘Thanks, Harry, it’s been great to meet you at last.’
‘Same here, lad. I’m only sad it’s at a time like this. You be careful, now, and next time you come I’ll take you for another knees-up at the Jolly Sailor.’
‘We’ll look forward to that.’
‘Write regularly. I’ll need to know you are all right.’
‘We will be.’
‘Of course you will. You are in a strange country, so if you need anything at all you are to contact me at once. Will you do that, lad?’
‘I promise.’
‘Does that include us?’ Luke appeared with the other two behind him. ‘After last night we have decided to adopt you into our family.’
‘My word, I am honoured.’ Harry laughed. ‘In that case I shall expect all of you to turn to me if you need any help at all.’
‘Thanks, Uncle.’ They all hugged him.
‘Right, I will tell you what I told Steve – you boys take care.’
‘Oh, we’re quite safe,’ Rick told him. ‘We’ve got two of the best pilots you could ever hope for.’
‘Yeah, they’re unflappable, Harry.’ Luke draped his arm around both pilots. ‘Why do you think we are staying so close to them? We’re hoping they will let us choose our own crews.’
Harry nodded and then glanced at the clock. ‘I must dash. Have fun, lads.’
‘We will,’ they called as Harry sped out of the door, determined not to be late for his shift.
Gladys appeared immediately, and she studied them carefully while serving them toast and tea. ‘I must admit you look a lot better than I expected after last night. I thought you’d all be asleep until the afternoon.’
The boys looked puzzled and she laughed. ‘You were all drunk last night.’
‘We were not!’ they protested.
‘We were happy, that’s all,’ Sandy informed her. ‘That beer was like water.’
‘You must have liked it, though, because you drank enough of it.’
‘After two pints we got used to it,’ Luke smirked. ‘Anyway, we are fine and want to make the most of today. Can you tell us how to get to the West End?’
Armed with instructions they were soon on their way, eager to see more of London.
They got off the train at Piccadilly Circus and began walking along Shaftesbury Avenue, turning down one street after another, not knowing where they were going, but enjoying every minute.
‘Just look at this!’ Luke exclaimed in astonishment. ‘It’s crowded and nearly everyone is in uniform.’
‘There are Americans everywhere,’ Rick pointed out as another group passed them, grinning and calling out ‘Hiya boys.’
‘This country is filling up with military as they prepare for an invasion,’ Steve said quietly.
‘Do you really think it is imminent?’ Rick wanted to know.
He nodded. ‘Harry believes it will be next year. He said ships are arriving all the time filled with military personnel and equipment.’
Ricky’s eyes shone with excitement. ‘If that is so, then we will be a part of it.’
‘That’s what we are here for.’
Luke nodded. ‘Then I suggest we enjoy our leave while we can. I’m starving. Where can we eat?’
‘That’s easy, just follow the Yanks,’ Sandy suggested. ‘They’ve obviously sussed the city out.’
They asked a group of American soldiers where they could get something to eat and were taken to a small hotel that was able to serve them a fairly decent meal. The next couple of hours were hilarious as the Americans insisted on showing them some of their favourite places.
By evening they had gathered quite a crowd, and they all agreed that the place to spend the evening was in an English pub. The Americans loved these as much as they did. Their companions knew just the place, of course, and took them down a side street to The Rose and Crown. During that evening they met men and women of all the services, ranks and different nationalities. After spending time in the pub, they went to one of the larger hotels holding a dance and were lucky enough to book the last room they had for the night.
The next morning Luke sat on the edge of the bed, head in hands, and groaned, ‘I need a strong cup of coffee.’
‘I need a whole potful,’ Ricky muttered. ‘Where did those Yanks get all that whisky from?’
The others looked around the room to see where the voice was coming from and found Ricky on the floor beside the bed.
‘What on earth are you doing down there?’ Steve asked, helping his friend to his feet. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Not sure, but I think so.’
‘Why were you on the floor?’
‘There wasn’t enough room for all of us in those two small beds.’ He ga
ve Steve a bleary look. ‘You take up a hell of a lot of room, so I was more comfortable on the floor.’
‘Sorry about that. I can’t help having long legs, and this was the only room they had available.’
‘Hey, it’s not a problem. Once we start flying missions, we will all be crammed together in that plane and living in each other’s pockets.’
‘True. Smarten yourselves up and let’s see if we can get breakfast.’
‘And coffee,’ Luke sighed.
There was no sign of their companions of the night before, so after eating they made their way to the station to catch a train back to base.
They were glad they’d made an early start because the journey back was slow, with two delays and a change of trains. It was the middle of the afternoon when they arrived at base, and they went to the rest room to talk about their trip to London.
After listening for a while, Steve got up and wandered out to the airfield, gazing at the majestic planes lined up and being worked on by the ground crews.
‘Did you enjoy your leave?’ a voice piped up from beside him.
He turned his head and looked down at Jean.
‘Very much. Are they going out tonight?’
She nodded. ‘The weather forecast is good. Was Nancy all right on the train?’
‘Quiet, but that was only to be expected. She told me about her brother.’
‘Did she?’ Jean was clearly surprised and smiled up at him. ‘I’m so pleased to hear that. She’s been bottling the grief up, and that is not good.’
‘She’ll be all right now she is with her family. What was he like – her brother?’
‘A man everyone liked and respected. Brother and sister were very much alike and very close. They were always laughing and joking together, but they were both conscious that one day he might not return from a mission. Although she fought to control her emotions, I know his death tore her apart. She scanned the skies for hours hoping he would return, and never gave up until she heard the reports from the other crews.’
He nodded in understanding. ‘Will they transfer her, do you think?’
‘If they try, she will kick up a fuss. She believes this is where she is meant to be and intends to stay. Of course, orders have to be obeyed and she might not have any choice.’ Jean looked up at the tall young man beside her. ‘Steve – I may call you that?’
Together Under the Stars Page 4