by Griff Hosker
I saw him stiffen, “Is that an order sir or just some advice which I can ignore if I choose?”
He was aggressive and I wondered if I ought to have waited until Ted was there. Then I realised that was the coward’s way out. I decided there was no point in being subtle. It was for Gordy’s good. “Actually, Gordy, it was advice from a friend but if you choose to ignore it then I will give you orders.” It was then that I realised he didn’t look well. His eyes had dark rings around them and he looked to have sunken cheeks. It was accentuated by the aggressive look he gave me and the way he balled his fists. “And I would warn you now to back off.”
“Or what,” he sneered, “you will put me on a charge?”
“No, we are old friends. I would take you outside and teach you a lesson.” I leaned in to him and added quietly, “And you know I can do it.” He glared at me for a moment and then sank back into his seat. “There was a time, Gordy, when I would never have dreamed of saying what I did but, at the moment, you are a wreck. I can’t believe the change in you in just two weeks.”
He suddenly changed. His face became haunted and his tone pleading. He spoke quietly, “It’s Mary, Bill, and she wants to get married.”
I smiled, “That is wonderful news, congratulations.”
He shook his head, “You don’t understand. How can I marry her when I might die at any time? Can I make her a widow a second time? I don’t think so.”
I nodded and began to fill my pipe. “I see, so instead you will become everything that you hated as a sergeant. You will be the bullying and uncaring officer who finds solace in the bottom of a bottle. You will break the heart of the woman who loves you. Yes you are right; that makes perfect sense to me.” I lit the pipe and puffed on it while I watched Gordy take in that information. He was breathing easier now. “Is she a bright woman, this Mary?” His eyes widened and I held up my hand. “I mean no offence but if she is, as I assume, intelligent, then do you not think that she has worked out that she could become a widow again and she is willing to take that chance>” He sat back with his mouth open. “You and Mary have a chance of happiness. Of course you could get killed. We all could. If you do die then she will at least have the happy memory of the time you spent together. The longer you delay the marriage the shorter that time will be.”
The door opened and Johnny and Freddy stood there with grins on their faces. They looked at us and the grins disappeared. Gordy stood and grabbed my hand. He shook it. He said, quietly, “Thanks Bill. I’ve been an idiot. Use the rest of that brandy as a firelighter. I have a letter to write.” He left and closed the door behind him.
“What was all that about sir?”
I put my hands on my hips. “Nothing for Second Lieutenants to worry about.” I smiled to take the sting from my words. “Did you have a good leave?”
“Oh yes sir. But it is good to be back.”
I shook my head, “Oh to be young and foolish again.”
The others all arrived together on the same train and the mess became crowded, noisy and smoky. The only absentee was Gordy and Ted took me to one side. “Where is Gordy? I have heard he was hitting the bottle and behaving like an idiot.”
“He is fine now, Ted. He just needs his friends around him. There is nothing to worry about so don’t mention it. It was a mistake to leave the three of them alone for a week. But we are back now and we can start to win the war.”
The first night back was a party atmosphere but Gordy, noticeably, abstained. I too took it easy and the three of us sat and chatted whilst the younger ones told tall tales of their leaves and the hearts they had broken. Major Leach was the last to arrive back. He had had the shortest leave having travelled all the way to Scotland. He caught my eye and waved me outside.
“Let’s take a wee stroll around the field eh laddie. A nice fresh night.” Fresh was the word; it was freezing but I complied. “I take it you had a word with Gordy then?”
“Yes sir.” I paused, “The colonel spoke with you and told you of the problem?”
“Aye, he let the lieutenant’s behaviour slide but he was prepared to do something if you hadna had a word. Is it sorted?” He held up a hand. “You two are friends and I am not going to pry. I am asking as the officer who has to lead this squadron to war. Can I rely on Gordy?”
I looked him squarely in the eye. “One hundred per cent sir. You have my word.”
He grinned and slapped me on the back. “You are a good lad, Bill. Well let’s get back inside I am freezing.”
Chapter 18
The next day we received our orders and the rest of the squadron received the news that we would be watching over some RE 7 bombers. We were going back to war. Before I went into the briefing I went to the aeroplanes where Laithwaite and Hutton were busy working on the buses. I took Holt and Carrick with me. They knew what was coming and wanted to be part of it.
“Laithwaite, Hutton, stop what you are doing and come here a moment please.”
They both stiffened as though they had done something wrong. Lumpy asked, “Summat up, sir?”
I reached into my right hand pocket and brought out the sergeant’s stripes. “Not really but you have been promoted. Congratulations.” I handed him the stripes. I was delighted to see that Laithwaite looked pleased for his friend. “And you too Laithwaite. Well done.” I handed him his stripes. “I think we can get it backdated to the first of January. A little more money always comes in handy after Christmas eh?”
“Thank you sir.”
“Carry on.”
As the engines were being warmed up, in this cold February morning, I took Holt and Carrick to one side. “I want to practise staying in formation today at high altitude. I want to try something different for us three. If it works we will try it with Lieutenant Hewitt’s flight too.”
Their keen young faces showed that they were eager to learn.
“I will fly in the middle, Johnny you will fly slightly behind to the right and Freddy, slightly behind and to the left. It means that I can see you both and give you better direction. It will not need to be follow my leader. I will use simple handle signals. I will point in the direction I want us to go. If I want you to do something different I will point to me and then the pilot I am ordering. Does that seem simple enough?”
“Yes sir.”
“I want to give us more flexibility. There is little point in three of us chasing after one Hun and leaving the bombers to be attacked by hordes of the little beggars.”
“Righto sir. When do we start the escort duties?”
“It could be any time, Johnny so be on your toes.”
I returned to Captain Marshall’s office. Since the new building had been erected we had an office where Randolph could keep the reports and maps. I would spend an increasing amount of time there. Major Leach was already there when I arrived. He waved a sheet of paper at me.
“We are popular fellows, Bill. It seems we are to escort two squadrons of bombers each heading for a separate target.”
Captain Marshall walked to the map and put a red pin in the airfields of the two squadrons. I could see that they were further from the front than we were. One was to the north and one to the south. “From what I have been able to gather these birds have a slower speed, about ten miles an hour, at least, slower. They have a lower altitude as well as a shorter range.”
“That is a good thing surely?”
Their faces told me that they did not think so.
“It seems to me that we can use the extra altitude and speed to wait above the bombers and hit the enemy fighters when they try to attack and our greater endurance means that we can watch over them when they return home.”
Archie lit his pipe and sat on one of the seats. “You wouldn’t fly next to them then?”
“No. We lose all surprise. The enemy can see us and attack our blind spot. If we are above the bombers we can see a greater distance. We might even be able to hit them before they get close to the bombers. That is where our speed com
es in.”
“Suppose they come from the rear. They have shown that they can be cunning blighters.”
“We do not have to fly in the same direction. We have greater speed we could zig zag across them.”
Archie smiled, “You know laddie, that just might work! Any more bright ideas?”
“I am going to try a formation with me in the middle and the others on either side of me. It might be I need to use them individually.”
“Risky. Are the two lads good enough for that?”
“I think so and if we have Lieutenant Hewitt’s flight with us they can fly the regular formation.”
“Well give it a go then.”
As I left the office a lorry pulled up. I saw Sergeant Sharp jump down from the back. I saw him wince slightly as he landed. “Charlie! Good to see you! All healed?”
“Getting there.”
“I saw your face then Charlie. It still hurts?”
He nodded, “But it is getting better, sir.”
“Good. Listen we are taking the flight out tomorrow. We will leave Hutton on the gun until we have completed that and then I’ll take you up and we’ll see how you manage. How’s that?”
I saw relief on his face, “That’s great sir. I want to get up again but I didn’t want to let you down.”
“You won’t. Come on and I’ll take you to the new quarters.”
He spread his arm. “This is a bit better than tents eh sir?”
“It is certainly warmer. Have you given any more thoughts to becoming a pilot? This squadron will be your best chance.”
“Yes sir. I have and I think I will try the colonel’s test. If you think you can teach me.”
I laughed, “It will not be a problem. When your leg is healed we will give it a go.” We had reached the new barracks. “Here we are; the sergeants’ Shangri-La!”
I was tempted to stay and see how Charlie and Lumpy hit it off and then realised that they were grown men. They would work it out. I found Gordy with his pilots and their gunners. They too were checking out their aeroplanes. That was a good sign. An even better one was the fact that they were laughing and joking.
They snapped to attention as I approached. “As you were. Just to let you know that we will be escorting bombers tomorrow. I intend to fly above them. I am trying a new formation with my flight but you can use the normal line astern. If mine works out then you can try it too.”
Gordy nodded. “Any idea where we are off to?”
“The railway lines just east of the front from what Captain Marshall told me. It doesn’t really matter as we know it will be behind the enemy lines. You know what that means?”
Gordy nodded, “We will be closer to their airfields and they can get more aeroplanes to attack us in a shorter time.”
“Exactly. I intend, if we are attacked, to buy the slower bombers time to get back. We know we can handle the fighters but they would be Fokker Fodder! If we have to we will use the defensive circle.”
“Only the younger officers have tried that!”
There was an edge of criticism in Gordy’s voice. I understood it. We would be gambling with an untried strategy. I shrugged, “If it looks like it isn’t working I will fire a Very flare and it will be every man for himself.”
We were up before dawn. The rendezvous with the bombers would be at eight thirty but we needed to make sure that we were ready. This was a new bomber and carried over two hundred and fifty pounds of bombs. It was important to get things right.
Sergeant Sharp was at the aeroplane with Hutton when I arrived. “You could have had a lie in Charlie.”
He laughed, “I need to get back into the routine besides the nurses at the hospital took great delight at waking us at the very crack of dawn!”
“How is the bus?”
They both nodded and Lumpy tossed a Mills bomb in his hand. “She’s ready to go and I have a couple of these.”
Charlie laughed, “They have their own chart in the sergeant’s mess sir. Lumpy here is top.”
“A chart?”
“Yes sir. How many enemy planes each sergeant has downed. I have a target when I rejoin you.”
I saw a flash of disappointment on Hutton’s face but he soon hid it as he busied himself inside the cockpit. We took off into the rising sun. When we finally reached our cruising altitude we went into our new formation. I realised that we looked like an elongated arrow. I was the tip and the last Gunbus in Gordy’s flight was the tail.
We circled the rendezvous until the eight RE 7 bombers arrived. They were single engine and a biplane. A little bigger than us, I saw that they only had one Lewis for defence. There was no gun for the pilot. I could see why they needed protection. The leading aeroplane waved and I waggled my wings and we followed them. It seemed ponderously slow although we were only flying at ten miles an hour slower than we normally did. We passed our lines and then No-Man’s Land. The German guns opened up at us when we crossed their lines. The shell bursts looked perilously close to the bombers. I would have flown at a higher altitude had I been their leader.
Once they reached their target they went into line astern and began their bombing run. I took my arrow in a large loop above them keeping a close watch to the east and the German airfields. I heard the crump of the bombs striking the ground and when I looked down I could see that the railway lines, the bridge and the road were wreathed in smoke and flames. It only took five or six minutes for the eight bombers to offload their cargo and then I saw them head west. I kept my fight above the burning bridge while we watched for the enemy.
The last bomber had just turned to follow his companions when the Fokkers appeared. It was a squadron. It looked to me that they had taken off as quickly as they could for they were strung out in a ragged line. We had an advantage. For once we would outgun them.
Gordy would be playing follow my leader but I pointed forward to my two wingmen and we dived, head on, towards the Fokkers. “Lumpy wait until you cannot miss.”
“Sir!”
I hoped that Holt and Carrick would have the nerve and hold fire too. The Eindecker was climbing at a slower rate than we were diving. He would struggle to make the turn we had seen the others do. In addition I had three more Gunbuses behind me. I began a slow turn to starboard. I wanted the Fokkers to face a wall of fire from all of the aeroplanes in my flight. Hutton opened fire a heartbeat after the German did. The difference was that Hutton could continue to train his gun as we turned whereas the German was firing into empty air. Lumpy and Laithwaite were able to concentrate their fire and they struck the engine of the first Fokker. It stopped and the stricken craft plummeted to the ground.
The next aeroplane climbing to meet us was hit by the combined fire of three aeroplanes and it too fell from the sky. We had now made our turn and were heading west. I led my aeroplanes down to a low altitude so that the Fokkers could not get below us. As I levelled out I said, “Lumpy get on the rear gun.”
I heard the sigh before the, “Yes sir!” He hated having to turn and then stand. If he had thought about it he would have realised that his low centre of gravity made him safer.
When he was in position and his face was just in front of me I shouted, “Can you see them?”
“Sir, they are chasing Lieutenant Hewitt’s flight but they are all strung out.”
I glanced at the ground below me. We had passed the German lines. The desultory crack of rifles and machine guns below us showed that the Germans were awake but, thankfully, not accurate. Once we had passed No-Man’s Land I breathed a sigh of relief. Two Fokkers had been destroyed but, more importantly, we had not, as yet, lost an aeroplane.
As we approached the field I saw that Major Leach had not been as fortunate. I counted but five aeroplanes and the cluster of people around two others suggested injuries and damage too.
I landed and taxied my flight to the opposite side of the field. Since we had been bombed we had spread the aeroplanes out to minimise damage in case of an attack. I waited for the oth
er pilots to join me. Laithwaite and Hutton were congratulating each other. “That’s at least half an aeroplane each.”
Gordy’s gunner joined in, “But what about the other? At least four of us got that one.”
Lumpy snorted, “That’s easy; a quarter of a kill each.”
I nodded to my two wingmen. “Well done you two. I should have warned you that I might turn and attack across their guns.”
Johnny nodded, “I thought it was risky but I had my eye on your sir and when I saw your wing dip a little I knew you were turning. That formation really works sir.”
“Yes, Johnny, but next time they might take off earlier and be waiting for us. They could meet us in a line of their own. Then we might be in trouble.”
Gordy clapped me on the back; he was getting back to his old self. “That felt good. We caught them with their pants down there.”
“But they will be up and about the next time. It will not be as easy.”
He nodded towards the other aeroplanes. “It looks like the others were banged about a bit eh?”
“I know. Let’s make our report. They won’t want the attention of our smiles and grins.” I pointed to the two sheet covered bodies. “They have lost men.”
The others heard my words and saw the bodies too. The grins and smiles left their faces. Our joy had been short lived.
We had just finished writing our report when the major came in. His face told the story. Captain Marshall asked the question which was on our minds. “What happened, sir?”
“The RE 7 squadron managed to bomb well enough and then the Fokkers hit us. They got my gunner before he got off a bullet. Then they got the second aeroplane in the line. Stephenson didn’t stand a chance. The bullets went through his gunner and hit him. They crashed in No-Man’s Land. Then they got Lawson’s gunner and we got back here as soon as we could. Thomas did well and his men covered us but they were knocked about a bit too.”
He seemed to remember that we had been on a raid too. “How about you? I saw six of you land.”
“The bombers did their job and we were jumped too but we hit them with my new formation. We downed two and then headed back home. Hutton and Laithwaite are deadly with their guns.”