1918 We will remember them

by Griiff Hosker

  I pointed down and began to dive. I made sure, by looking in my mirror, that Owen had followed me and I cocked my guns. The Germans had not seen us. Our altitude had given us the advantage but it also meant that the Germans would be able to hit the Bristols and Camels. I saw the tracer from the Bristol’s rear gunners and watched as Freddie and his Camels looped and dived away from the twin Spandaus. They would all be low on ammunition.

  I took the flight across the twelve aeroplanes. It minimised the chance of us hitting our own aeroplanes and gave us the opportunity of hitting the entire enemy force. We were touching almost one hundred and twenty miles an hour as we screamed across them. At that speed you have the target in your sights for seconds. I held down the triggers as I zoomed over them. I was flying too fast to see what damaged I caused but I knew that I was hitting them. I stopped firing when I passed over the last Albatros. I pulled my nose up to loop. I saw that my new lieutenant was desperately trying to copy me but the Camel needed a firm hand. At the top of the loop I rolled to regain the horizon. It took the Welshman a little longer to realise he was flying upside down before he finally remedied it.

  The Germans were chasing the Bristols west. I quickly counted and saw only eight Germans. Either some were shot down or they were elsewhere. Glancing to left and right I saw the rest of my flight were with me. I put the nose down and began to chase the Albatros with the green tail. He was a good pilot and he kept jinking from side to side. I was patient. He could not hit Gordy, whom he was chasing, whilst he was jinking. Gordy’s gunner had no such problem and I saw his bullets hitting the Albatros. It must have irritated the German for he stopped squirming and flew straight to get his shot in. I was ready and I gave a five second burst. His tail was shredded. He tried to pull up but, as he did so, Gordy’s gunner let rip and the Albatros side slipped down to the ground where it exploded in a fiery inferno.

  The rest had left and so we escorted the Bristols home. My flight had all survived. I was not certain that my new pilot had fired his guns but that was not important. He had another two and a half hours in the air and he had fought in aerial combat. Days like this were rare and to be savoured.

  I sought out Lieutenant Davies as soon as we landed. He was wide eyed and looked a little pale. “How was it Lieutenant?”

  “A little hard to know what you were going to do, sir. I nearly lost you a couple of times and after the loop…”

  “You were disorientated. I know. Well you survived your first flight over German lines and that is a bonus. The next time you fly you will be in the middle of the flight but you will do exactly what you did today. Stick to the bus in front like glue,” He nodded. “Did you get to fire your guns when we were up there?”

  “No sir. I was afraid of hitting you.”

  “Next time we are up if you don’t get the chance to fire them in combat then fire them on the way back. You need to know what it feels like.”

  “I have fired guns on the range sir.”

  “Have you fired from a Camel, in the air?”

  “No sir.”

  I nodded, “It will feel different. We were lucky today, Owen, we caught the Hun with his trousers down. Sometimes they will be waiting for us. Remember to use your mirror and be aware of where the flight is at all times. Now if I were you I would go over your bus with your mechanic.”

  “Sir.”

  The early October weather was notoriously unpredictable and we were grounded for the next two days with overcast skies and sudden squalls. It was frustrating for all that we wanted was to get in the air and consolidate the good work. I used the enforced ground time to catch up on letters. I told mum that I had seen Bert and that he was well. I did not tell her of his new regiment. She would not understand and it was, after all, still a secret. I wrote to Alice and Beattie too. My letter to Beattie was full of concern about the raids on London but I was able to promise her that I would have a leave at around Christmas time. I begged her to get leave at the same time. The last thing I wanted was for her to be working. When I reached London I wanted every single minute with her.

  The skies cleared and so were we. Headquarters thought that they might have repaired the storage area we had raided and destroyed and we were sent back. I took the decision to repeat the same tactics. Archie was certain that there was no need. “Listen laddie you mauled their fighters well last time. Besides we were about to head home anyway. If you join in the attack too then we can leave quicker.”

  “If you don’t mind sir I will take my flight aloft. I can still raid the supply depot but I will feel happier watching over you.”

  “Your instincts have never let us down, Bill. Aye, take your flight aloft.”

  I put Lieutenant Davies between Jack and Roger. They had proved dependable and I knew that Jack would watch over our new chick. We climbed over the trenches to take our position. I had just cocked my guns when I saw the enemy aeroplanes coming from the north east to intercept us. It was the Flying Circus. I recognised the strange shape of the leading six triplanes.

  “I have spotted the Red Baron and the Circus. Over.”

  It was a simple bald message but if anything happened to us at least they would know the reason. Below us I saw the rest of the squadron as they began their runs. I waved to the others and aimed my bus directly at the eighteen fighters. Alarmingly they did not make for the buses attacking the supplies, they came for us. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that a second squadron was approaching from the south to attack Archie and the rest. It was as fine a trap as I had seen.

  The detached side of me thought that this would be a good opportunity to see if Sergeant Lowery’s improvements had made us a better bus than the Fokker. With odds of three to one it was unlikely that anyone would ever know.

  “The squadron is being attacked by a second formation of German fighters. We are engaging the Circus. Over.”

  We were two very fast formations of flights and we were not flying the way that the Germans would expect. We were not in line astern. That was our only edge. The Red Baron’s distinctive red livery was three aeroplanes along. I flew at the gaudily painted yellow and blue Fokker. I glanced to left and right and saw that, for some reason, I was slightly ahead of Hickey and Jenkin. When I was three hundred yards from the Germans I moved my stick to starboard and then, as I corrected to return to my original course I fired my guns. I was gambling that the pilots we faced were the best and would have wonderfully quick reactions. It worked. The pilot of the yellow and blue Fokker tried to match my turn and his guns had no target. I hit his engine at two hundred yards and I could not miss. His Fokker fell from the sky as all power was lost. He was a good pilot and I knew he had a chance of crash landing. There was a gap into which I flew.

  I banked to starboard. I was in dead air. The second wave of Fokkers could not fire for fear of hitting their own pilots and I could attack the unprotected rears of the Fokkers who were being attacked by my brave young pilots. I kept the turn going and raked the rear of a green, white and black Fokker. I saw that the next aeroplane was that of the Red Baron.

  “I have just shot down a triplane. I am engaging the Red Baron. Over.”

  It might be my last message but it was important for Randolph to have a picture of the fight.

  As I pulled my nose around I saw the red tail and I fired. Richthofen had good reactions and a sound tactical sense. He began to pull a loop to get away from the danger and to allow his second wave to hit us. I had to adjust my turn and climb with him. This would be a test. He did not pull away. He kept jinking as he climbed and I had no shot. I had the tiger by the tail and I hung on. When he got to the top of the loop I knew what he would do. He would not continue down but he would roll and then either turn to port or starboard. I had to gamble. When he rolled he was, briefly, flying level and I fired for the two seconds he was in my sights. I do not know why but I turned my bus to starboard. It could have been a disaster. If he had turned to port he would have been able to get on my tail but he turned to star
board too and I fired again.

  I was suddenly aware that we were in clear air. The clouds were close to us but the rest of the combats were taking place far below us. The sound of the guns seemed muffled. This was a game of cat and mouse. I saw that I had damaged both his tail and hit his fuselage although it did not appear to affect the handling of the lively little Fokker. He had begun to move his bus from side to side trying to draw fire and waste my ammunition. I was less than a hundred and fifty yards from his tail and I could be patient. I looked at my compass and saw that he was drawing me east. Perhaps Randolph was right and they had a shorter range.

  Suddenly he jerked his Fokker and disappeared into the clouds. I had no choice but to follow. I knew that he would turn once he was in the clouds. I gambled and turned to port. It was the opposite of the move I had anticipated earlier and it took him away from his base. I had met the man and knew his calculating mind. When the turn was complete I dropped my nose and saw him below me, heading south. I discovered I was heading east. He had not seen me and I banked and dived to starboard. As his aeroplane became a cross beneath me I fired. I hit his top wing and his Spandau. I must have damaged his guns for he turned to port and began to descend as he headed for home. I looked at my fuel gauge. I was running out too. I gave one last burst and then turned to head west.

  As I flew over the scene of the fight I saw the Fokker I had hit, burning. There were also two burning Bristols and a Camel. I think I saw the wreckage of three other aeroplanes but I could not identify them. If we had lost just one Camel and two Bristols then we had edged a draw with the Circus.

  “Returning to the field. Over.”

  I did not know what to feel. I had survived a second encounter with the Red Baron and shot down a Fokker but nothing was decided. We both still lived. I had this feeling that the Circus was a squadron bound up in the myth of the Red Baron. If we could only shoot him down then the myth would be destroyed.

  My engine began to cough a little. My aerial exertions had almost used all of my fuel. I was lucky. I saw a gap on the airfield and managed to land my bus before it ran out of fuel. As I stood in the cockpit I surveyed the field. All of my Camels were there although all of them looked to be damaged in some way. Freddie had lost his new pilot. He had lasted just three hours over enemy lines. Our life was exciting but could be very short.

  My flight raced over to me once my propeller had stopped. “Did you get him sir? The Red Baron?”

  “We saw you disappear into the clouds and then…”

  I shook my head. “No he escaped but I hit his guns. It may be he won’t be flying in the morning. Did you get any kills?”

  They all looked disappointed. “No sir, although we winged a couple of them and George made one of them smoke a little.”

  Jack Fall was ever generous with his praise. “Well done, George. Claim that as a possible eh?”

  “No sir. I’ll wait until I see that they are down. Don’t worry. I’ll get there. We took on the Flying Circus today! And they ran.”

  I nodded, “I think that they do have a problem with endurance and I also noticed that while they can climb they don’t dive so well. Keep them flying around and they will run first.”

  Once again our damage grounded us but the Circus was noticeable by its absence. Randolph and Archie were summoned to Headquarters. I wondered if it was for a dressing down. They did not like our squadron to be stood down.

  In the mess we managed to catch up on old newspapers. We read how Werner Voss, one of the other leading German aces, had been shot down by Captain McCudden in an SE 5. I shook my head. The British ace had had seven other aeroplanes with him and the German had managed to damage three before being shot down. The Germans had some remarkable fliers.

  Freddie took me to one side. “Sir, my new pilot lasted just two flights. How do you manage to keep your pilots in the air longer than I do?”

  “You should know, Freddie, you flew with me. Protect them while they are new. Even if they think they are ready to take on the Germans don’t let them until they have hours in the air. I was worried sick about Davies. But Fall and Jenkin looked out for him. My flight may not be claiming many kills but they are damaging the enemy and they aren’t dying. That is a victory in my book.”

  “The lads say you took on the Red Baron again.”

  “He is a damned good pilot. I was lucky up there. I managed to second guess him. Next time I might guess wrong.”

  The next morning we had a briefing from Archie and Randolph. They had been at Headquarters until late in the night.

  “Well it wasn’t a telling off as we expected. It seems we hurt the Germans the other day. They sent a couple of reconnaissance aeroplanes to photograph their field and it looks like they were damaged worse than we were. Well done; and now the good news. We are being rested. A and D flights will be given a week’s leave and then B and C flights. That way we will have both Camels and Bristols. We need to be ready for an offensive in November. Until then we will just patrol our own lines and stop the Hun from watching what we are up to.” Everyone cheered. Archie nodded, “And Bill here has been recommended for a bar to his MC.” He chuckled, “He will need a bigger uniform soon.”

  Ted asked. “When do the first lads go on leave sir?”

  “Tomorrow Ted. If you and Freddie can take your flights up today for a patrol then Gordy and Bill can pack.” He smiled at me, “Oh and Bill the general said there is an investiture at the Palace on Thursday. The Prince of Wales will be presenting you your VC.” Everyone cheered but part of me resented the fact that I would have a day less to spend with Beattie.

  “Right sir.”

  “Contact the General in London when you arrive and his chaps will give you the details.”

  It was good news but I was not certain if Beattie would be able to get time off. However any time I could spend with her was better than nothing and a week’s leave was not long enough to get home to Burscough. I told Bates the good news. “Leave sir? How delightful.” He hesitated, “Will you need me, sir?”

  “I don’t think so. What have you planned?” I knew that he had no family.

  “Well sir, I thought I would take the opportunity of exploring the old buildings of London. When I heard that the Germans were bombing the old city I realised that I needed to see them while they were still standing. Who knows what mischief they might get up to?”

  He was right but I would have no time for sightseeing. “Well enjoy yourself.”

  “Will you be in London, sir?”

  “I think so.” I hesitated, “I have to go to the palace on Thursday to get a gong.”

  His face lit up. “Well done sir! Will you be staying at a hotel or the Army and Navy club?”

  It was a good question but I didn’t want to be around soldiers. My medals drew too much attention and I wanted to be able to be with Beattie as much as possible. “A hotel I think.”

  “Well if you would not mind, sir, I would like to arrange that and then I would still be able to keep your uniform looking smart for the investiture.”

  “You don’t need to you know.”

  “I know sir. I want to.”

  “Good then I will leave that in your hands. One job less for me to do.”

  “And I will pack for you sir.”

  Chapter 11

  I had no time to contact Beattie and, when the boat train arrived in London, I left Bates to arrange the hotel while I went to the hospital. He told me that the hotel would be close to Buckingham Palace. There were many hotels in Victoria. I arranged to meet him outside the gates of Buckingham Palace in an hour. It was a relief not to have to worry about such mundane things as arranging a room in a hotel. It was late when we reached London. I ran across Hyde Park to reach the hospital. If she was on duty I could wait for her to finish her shift and if not then I could go to her quarters.

  The orderly who was standing outside having a quiet cigarette recognised me. He stubbed out his cigarette and wafted away the smoke. “Major Harske
r! What are you doing here?”

  I smiled as I sought for his name. “Just a quick leave, George. Is Miss Porter on duty?”

  He scratched his head. “I am not certain, sir. If you wait here I’ll find out.”

  I cooled my heels and looked around at the peaceful streets. One change I noticed from my earlier visits was there were more sandbags around the doors and the windows were taped. The German bombers were more than a nuisance; they were deadly.

  George wheezed back to the door. “Er yes, sir. She’s on duty. She’s in theatre at the moment. I left a message to say you were here.”

  “What time will she be off duty?”

  “Ten o’clock.”

  I looked at the clock in the hallway. It was six thirty. “Right I’ll be back at nine thirty. Make sure she knows I will be here waiting for her.”

  “Don’t you worry, sir. We’ll make sure.” He nodded towards my ribbons. “Well done for the medal, sir.” I nodded. There was little to say that didn’t come out as either false or arrogant. I had found a polite nod worked.

  I found Bates peering at the Palace through the gates. “It would be a great shame, Major Harsker, if this was to be damaged by the Hun. It is a wonderful building.”

  “It certainly is.” As he led me back to the hotel he had found, the Mayflower, I said, “I am allowed two guests on Thursday, Bates when I come for my medal. I would be honoured if you would be one of them.”

  He turned and for one moment I thought that he would embrace me, “Really, sir?”

  “I only have Miss Porter in town and I don’t think that Captain Hewitt would appreciate being dragged away from his wife and child.”

  “Then I accept. That would be wonderful. It might be my only chance of visiting the home of the King and Queen.”

  I thought it was true and it was sad at the same time. Bates and soldiers like him would do their jobs far better than I did mine but they would never be rewarded. It didn’t seem fair.