by Griff Hosker
He looked at us and our bags and shook his head.
"Gordy you go first with Lowe and Gowland. I will wait here with Curtis and Poulson."
We sat on a couple of bollards, watching the blue sea warm a little as the sun rose. "I wonder why they only sent a jeep, Sarge?"
"Perhaps they didn't know that we had brought you all with us. That little doctor might not be the only one who doesn't know how tough you lads are."
Ken nodded and threw his cigarette butt into the water, "Norm, Bill, John, and young Alan weren't so tough were they? Or maybe they weren't lucky enough."
I nodded, "Bonaparte liked lucky men around him. I think we have been lucky. I know we lost four men on this raid but remember Sergeant Johnson's section; only two came back from one raid. If we do what we do then we can expect casualties. We managed to do the job without any losses didn't we? It was just bad luck that they found us. Maybe it was my fault. If I hadn't taken us down that sandy road then we might not have got bogged down."
Ken laughed, "I reckon the other road would have been much more dangerous Sarge. You made the right decision but you are right, we did have a little bad luck."
George shook his head, "Maybe I am to blame. If I had been a better mechanic…"
"Now stop right there. We are Commandos and we don't blame anyone for what goes wrong. We adapt and we improvise. You are a cracking mechanic and we wouldn't have got as far as we did without you."
The self doubt and analysis was stopped when the Jeep returned. "All aboard, Sarge."
When we reached the field I saw that it had been bombed. There was a Blenheim at one end of the field and Hurricanes and a couple of Gloster Gladiators were spread around the sides. We were driven to the Blenheim. It was a small fast aeroplane. Dad had always liked the medium bomber. Lieutenant Marsden, complete with stick was waiting for us. He shook my hand heartily, "Well done Sergeant. Others doubted that you could have survived but I knew you would. Your father believed it too."
"Is he still here, sir?"
"No he and the General were flown to Cairo yesterday. We are heading for Gib."
The pilot stuck his head from the cockpit. "Could you chaps continue your discussion in the bus? I want to be well clear of here before the one o'clock air raid."
We hurried aboard. Ken and the others had taken the bags and the guns. This was no Sunderland. We sat with our backs braced against the fuselage and the Bergens. Once we were airborne it was possible to talk. The Blenheim was not as noisy as a Whitley. The Lieutenant wanted to know all that he could about what had happened to us.
"I heard the bare bones; how you and the Company of infantry were attacked by armour. Then we were whisked away to Malta and heard nothing."
"Does Dad know I survived? I wouldn't want him worrying over me."
"He knows. The General himself said he wanted to be kept informed. He was much taken by you, Sergeant. Like me he couldn't understand why you weren't an officer. Surprisingly enough your dad wasn't surprised."
"That is because Dad was a Sergeant once himself. He thinks it is a learning process and you become a better officer if you have served in the ranks."
I could see that Lieutenant Marsden had never even considered that. He was what I might have been had I not dropped out of the Officer Training Course and University.
We were two hours into the flight when we were attacked. The gunner came running down from the cockpit to the turret which was in the middle. "Watch out gents. A couple of Eyeties have decided that we look like a tempting target."
We shuffled out of the way to allow him to stand and fire the twin Brownings.
As he cocked his guns I said, "I would hold onto something, sir. The pilot will have to toss and turn otherwise they will get him in his blind spot."
"Where is that?" asked the lieutenant.
The sergeant laughed, "Anywhere my guns aren’t aimed at. Unless the dozy buggers are daft enough to fly in front of us."
Suddenly the two guns began to chatter. At the same time we dived. I gripped the side of the fuselage. Ken rolled and his hand hit the Lieutenant's injured leg. I saw the officer wince but he said nothing. The Italians were persistent. The gunner looked down and said, "Can one of you lads get me another belt of ammo. It's near the tail."
I rose to my knees. "I'll get it."
Half bent I made my way back to the ammunition box and took out another two belts of the .303 ammunition. I had just turned when the pilot began to climb. I was deposited on my backside. As he levelled out I hurried back to the gunner.
He grinned, "Just in time, mate!" He loaded the guns. "It won't be long now. They will run out of ammo soon. Then I daresay they will fly back to Sicily and brag about their attack!" He shook his head as he fired another burst.
Five minutes later and the attack was over. The gunner began to walk back to the cockpit. "Now if they had been Jerries then we would have had no chance. Thank God they were Eyeties. Gib in a couple of hours!"
Lieutenant Marsden looked in pain. "Are you all right, sir?"
"Sorry sir."
"It was not your fault, Curtis. I don’t think I will be in action any time soon."
I sat opposite him, "I'm not certain any of us will be, sir."
"We will have to rebuild again, I think."
We saw a little more of Gibraltar this time. We landed in the late afternoon and were told that our transport would not be leaving until the next morning. The pilot had just landed and brought the mail for the island. We actually slept in the Rock on proper beds. It felt like luxury. The privations of the desert seemed a lifetime ago.
When we finally touched down in England the first thing we noticed was the icy blasts which chilled us to the bone. We were still wearing desert kit. We shivered in the lorry which took us back to Weymouth. We had left a half deserted camp with barely a dozen men there. Lord Lovat and the rest of Number Four Commando had returned from their raid on the Lofoten Islands. The place was heaving and filled with excited chatter. There was an air of both excitement and ebullience. For me that was tempered by the memory of the men we had left behind us.
Epilogue
My Military Medal was waiting for me in the office. It was pinned to my chest by Lord Lovat. He was not a man who was easily impressed but he spent a good hour talking to me about my time in the Commandos. He was particularly interested in our experiences in the desert. "That is an area we will have to explore Sergeant. I would be grateful if you would write a little report for me. What sort of equipment you might need and so on."
"Will we be going back, sir?"
"Not yet. We still have much to do in Europe and your experiences will come in handy. Keep training your men as well as you have done and be ready to go at a moment's notice. We have proved that we can do the job. People will expect success now all the time. The standard will always go up!"
Reg Dean took me for a pint to celebrate. Jack Johnson joined us. "You two are being sent on a demolition course next week. Your new men won’t be here for a while and your corporals can whip them into shape."
Training never stopped.
That evening I used the telephone in the Headquarters Building to ring mum. As soon as I heard her voice I felt happy. She was home; she was one of the reasons we were fighting.
"Hello mum!"
"Tom!"
"I had to ring. Dad is safe!"
"I know he rang the other day and told me." There was a pause. "He told me about you and how proud he was of what you did. He wouldn't tell me exactly what but I am guessing from what your dad said that it was dangerous."
"No more dangerous than living with the fear of bombers day in and day out. Anyway I am back now and I just rang to tell you that."
"Dad says he will be home by summer. His work there is nearly done. It will be nice if you can come home too. You must be due some leave."
"In the Commandos, mum, you never know when you will get leave but I promise I will try."
As I walked back to
the digs I knew that it would be highly unlikely that I would be home for a leave that summer. We were Commandos and we were the ones who could hit back at Hitler and his Fortress Europe. We would raid and raid again. The little pinpricks were all we could do for the moment but I knew that one day we would return to France and it would be Commandos who would lead.
The End
Glossary
Butchers- Look (Cockney slang Butcher's Hook- Look)
Butties- sandwiches (slang)
Chah- tea (slang)
Comforter- the lining for the helmet; a sort of woollen hat
Corned dog- Corned Beef (slang)
Fruit salad- medal ribbons (slang)
Gash- spare (slang)
Gib- Gibraltar (slang)
Goon- Guard in a POW camp (slang)- comes from a 1930s Popeye cartoon
MGB- Motor Gun Boat
MTB- Motor Torpedo Boat
ML- Motor Launch
Oik- worthless person (slang)
Oppo/oppos- pals/comrades (slang)
Killick- leading hand (Navy) (slang)
Potato mashers- German Hand Grenades (slang)
QM- Quarter Master (stores)
Recce- Reconnoitre (slang)
SBA- Sick Bay Attendant
Schnellboote -German for E-boat (literally fast boat)
Scragging - roughing someone up (slang)
Scrumpy- farm cider
squaddy- ordinary soldier (slang)
Stag- sentry duty (slang)
Stand your corner- get a round of drinks in (slang)
Tommy (Atkins)- Ordinary British soldier
Two penn'orth- two pennies worth (slang for opinion)
WVS- Women's Voluntary Service
Maps
WesternDesertBattle Area1941 en" by Stephen Kirrage talk - contribs - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WesternDesertBattle_Area1941_en.svg#/media/File:WesternDesertBattle_Area1941_en.svg
Historical note
The first person I would like to thank for this particular book and series is my dad. He was in the Royal Navy but served in Combined Operations. He was at Dieppe, D-Day and Walcheren. His boat: LCA 523 was the one which took in the French Commandos on D-Day. He was proud that his ships had taken in Bill Millens and Lord Lovat. I wish that, before he died I had learned more in detail about life in Combined Operations but like many heroes he was reluctant to speak of the war. He is the character in the book called Bill Leslie. I went back in 1994, with my dad to Sword beach and he took me through that day on June 6th 1944. We even found the grave of his cousin George Hogan who died on D-Day. As far as I know we were the only members of the family ever to do so. Sadly that was dad's only visit but we planted forget-me-nots on the grave of George.
I would also like to thank Roger who is my railway expert. The train Tom and the Major catch from Paddington to Oswestry ran until 1961. The details of the livery, the compartments and the engine are all, hopefully accurate. I would certainly not argue with Roger!
I used a number of books in the research. The list is at the end of this historical section. However the best book, by far, was the actual Commando handbook which was reprinted in 2012. All of the details about hand to hand, explosives, esprit de corps etc were taken directly from it. The advice about salt, oatmeal and water is taken from the book. It even says that taking too much salt is not a bad thing! I shall use the book as a Bible for the rest of the series. The Commandos were expected to find their own accommodation. Some even saved the money for lodgings and slept rough. That did not mean that standards of discipline and presentation were neglected; they were not.
German Panzer Mk. 2 used in the Low Countries. 20 mm gun and machine gun in rotating turret. Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia.
The 1st Loyal Lancashire existed as a regiment. They were in the BEF and they were the rearguard. All the rest is the work of the author's imagination. The use of booby traps using grenades was common. The details of the German potato masher grenade are also accurate. The Germans used the grenade as an early warning system by hanging them from fences so that an intruder would move the grenade and it would explode. The Mills bomb had first been used in the Great War. It threw shrapnel for up to one hundred yards. When thrown the thrower had to take cover too. However my Uncle Norman, who survived Dunkirk was demonstrating a grenade with an instructor kneeling next to him. It was a faulty grenade and exploded in my uncle's hand. Both he and the Sergeant survived. My uncle just lost his hand. I am guessing that my uncle's hand prevented the grenade fragmenting as much as it was intended. Rifle grenades were used from 1915 onwards and enabled a grenade to be thrown much further than by hand
During the retreat the British tank, the Matilda was superior to the German Panzers. It was slow but it was so heavily armoured that it could only be stopped by using the 88 anti aircraft guns. Had there been more of them and had they been used in greater numbers then who knows what the outcome might have been. What they did succeed in doing, however, was making the German High Command believe that we had more tanks than they actually encountered. The Germans thought that the 17 Matildas they fought were many times that number. They halted at Arras for reinforcements. That enabled the Navy to take off over 300,000 men from the beaches.
Although we view Dunkirk as a disaster now, at the time it was seen as a setback. An invasion force set off to reinforce the French a week after Dunkirk. It was recalled. Equally there were many units cut off behind enemy lines. The Highland Division was one such force. 10,000 men were captured. The fate of many of those captured in the early days of the war was to be sent to work in factories making weapons which would be used against England.
Freya, the German Radar.
Germany had radar stations and they were accurate. They also had large naval guns at Cape Gris Nez as well as railway guns. They made the Channel dangerous although they only actually sank a handful of ships during the whole of the war. They did however make Southend and Kent dangerous places to live.
Commando dagger
The E-Boats were far superior to the early MTBs and Motor Launches. It was not until the Fairmile boats were developed that the tide swung in the favour of the Royal Navy. Some MTBs were fitted with depth charges. Bill's improvisation is the sort of thing Combined Operations did. It could have ended in disaster but in this case it did not.
The first Commando raids were a shambles. Churchill himself took action and appointed Sir Roger Keyes to bring some order to what the Germans called thugs and killers. Major Foster and his troop reflect that change.
The parachute training for Commandos was taken from this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/72/a3530972.shtml. Thank you to Thomas Davies. The Number 2 Commandos were trained as a battalion and became the Airborne Division eventually. The SOE also trained at Ringway but they were secreted away at an Edwardian House, Bowden. As a vaguely related fact 43 out of 57 SOE agents sent to France between June 1942 and Autumn 1943 were captured, 36 were executed!
The details about the Commando equipment are also accurate. They were issued with American weapons although some did use the Lee Enfield. When large numbers attacked the Lofoten Islands they used regular army issue. The Commandos appeared in dribs and drabs but 1940 was the year when they began their training. It was Lord Lovat who gave them a home in Scotland but that was not until 1941. I wanted my hero, Tom, to begin to fight early. His adventures will continue throughout the war.
The raid on German Headquarters is based on an attempt by Number 3 Commando to kill General Erwin Rommel. In a real life version of 'The Eagle Has Landed' they almost succeeded. They went in by lorry. Commandos were used extensively in the early desert war but, sadly, many of them perished in Greece and Cyprus and Crete. Of 800 sent to Crete only 200 returned to Egypt. Churchill also compounded his mistake of supporting Greece by sending all 300 British tanks to the Western Desert and the Balkans. The map shows the area where Tom and the others fled.
The Green Howards were not in that part of the desert at that time. The Germans did begin to reinforce their allies at the start of 1941.
JU 52 Courtesy of Wikipedia
Motor launch Courtesy of Wikipedia
Motor Gun Boat Courtesy of Wikipedia
Short Sunderland Short Sunderland: Bunks and galley
Reference Books used
The Commandos Pocket Manual 1949-45- Christopher Westhorp
The Second World War Miscellany- Norman Ferguson
Army Commandos 1940-45- Mike Chappell
Military Slang- Lee Pemberton
World War II- Donald Sommerville
St Nazaire 1942-Ken Ford
Dieppe 1942- Ken Ford
The Historical Atlas of World War II-Swanston and Swanston
The Battle of Britain- Hough and Richards
The Hardest Day- Price
Griff Hosker August 2015
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Griff Hosker
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