The next week flew by as the men from Saskatchewan threw themselves into the training. The officers and the NCOs had had their pride hurt and they worked harder than anyone. I liked the Colonel and Wally. They loved their regiment and it showed. Wally even began to lose some weight. I am not certain if it was the food or the training but he physically changed over that week.
Our training was ended when we returned one night, actually singing, as we came down the road, to see Major Foster waiting for us. He had not returned when we had expected and his presence was ominous. He saluted and said, "Colonel, if you and Captain Friedmann would join me in the office." As they turned he said, "You too, Tom."
Reg left the office and said, "I'll watch the door, sir."
"This looks serious, Major Foster."
"The operation is back on, sir. It has been adjusted in light of our experience. It is now called Operation Jubilee. Your trucks are here to take you to your new base at Southampton. You embark on the eighteenth and the attack is on the nineteenth."
Captain Friedmann whistled and said, "No hanging around in the Solent then? My boys will appreciate that."
The Colonel said, "And will Lieutenant Harsker's section be part of this?"
The Major nodded, "He will sir but his part is top secret. You understand?"
"I didn't but I do know. Me and my boys are the sledge hammer. Lieutenant Harsker here is the lock pick." He held out his hand, "I'd just like to say, Lieutenant, that no matter what happens in this operation more of my boys will survive and that is down to you and your, what do call them? 'Lads'. Thank them for me."
"I will sir and good luck. You have a fine regiment. They will do you proud."
Captain Friedmann said, "When all this is over, Tom, I shall buy you a pint."
I patted his middle, "Not too many, eh sir? We don't want the baby back!"
He laughed, "No indeedy."
The two saluted and left. Reg came back in, "Well sir, what is our job?"
"You and your section are going back behind enemy lines. You are being parachuted in."
"No 'Lucky Lady' then sir?"
"She will pick you up after it is all over. She has a separate mission." He looked up at the map on the wall. "It has been decided to do away with the airborne element. Number three and number four Commando will be going their job along with the Marines." He smiled, "I am going in again too! You impressed the other Canadian colonels. They said they wanted Commandos. And they have them."
"When do we leave, sir?"
"You have four days to prepare. You will go in three days before Operation Jubilee begins. You need to be behind the lines, alone, for two days."
I saw Reg's face. He knew the dangers now. "The new man is here sir, will he be going on the operation?"
"Has he had parachute training?"
"Yes sir."
"Then he might as well come."
"Report here tomorrow at eight, Tom, with your men and I will brief you. I want you all fresh."
"Yes sir."
As I left with Reg he said, "I took the liberty of telling him to go to Mrs Bailey's, sir. He should be there now."
"Thanks Sarn't Major." The drizzle had finally stopped and my men sat waiting for me. "I thought you lot would have gone back by now."
Sergeant Poulson said, "We knew something was up, sir."
"You will all find out tomorrow. We have an eight o'clock start. You can have a few pints tonight if you like."
Harry said, "That means we are off again soon eh sir?"
I nodded, "It does, Harry, it most certainly does."
Ken Shepherd was sitting outside Mrs Bailey's, smoking, when we arrived. He leapt to his feet and almost fell over as he tried to put out the cigarette and salute all at the same time. "Private Shepherd, sir, reporting for duty!"
I smiled, "At ease, Private. We will get to know each other over one of Mrs Bailey's famous meals." He nodded, "Did you give her your ration book?"
His face fell, "No sir. I forgot."
Sergeant Poulson chuckled, "Well I would do it now before she divvies up the food!"
He was joking, of course, but Private Shepherd raced back inside. Harry Gowland said, "He looks about fourteen, sir! I bet he hasn't even started shaving yet!"
Scouse said, "Well I am happy! I am no longer the baby of the section!"
It was a stew made with a cow heel and shin beef. I suspected that Mrs Bailey had used some homemade elderberry wine in the sauce. Whatever she had done it was delicious. I let the rest of the section grill the private. They elicited all the information I needed. He was eighteen and had volunteered for the Commandos. He had just travelled all the way from the Commando training school in Scotland. He was an only child and was, unlike most of the section, a country boy. He came from a farm up near Middleham in North Yorkshire. He was quiet and I saw that he was embarrassed by some of the questions. He had to fight with these men; better to get any discomfort out of the way.
When the pudding dishes were taken away and the lads whose turn it was for dishes had left I spoke with Ken. "Don't let them get to you. They are all good lads and they have been together for a few months and completed a couple of missions."
He nodded, "I know sir. Everyone said this was the best section. The instructor told me I was chosen especially for it."
That was intriguing. "There must be a good reason for it. What special skills do you have?"
"I came top in shooting sir and I seem to have an affinity for explosives. The shooting I can understand. Dad is a farmer and I grew up with a twelve bore in the crook of my arm but explosives." He shrugged.
I tried a stab in the dark, "I am also betting that you score highly in the field craft section."
He grinned, "Yes sir. They gave up looking for me on our final test."
"Well you will fit in well. Just to let you know that we have a big operation coming up. I am afraid you will be thrown in at the deep end."
"That is fine with me, sir. I want to do my bit for the war."
The dishwashers returned. Scouse said, "Mr Harsker said we could go to the pub! Who is up for it?"
They all cheered. I nodded surreptitiously to Shepherd who said, "Could I come with you chaps?" I saw the looks from my section at the sound of his voice. He sounded a little like me and I knew they would think that posh.
Harry would be with them and he said, "Aye son."
When they had gone I said to Sergeant Poulson, "Come on we will go and see if Reg is in the pub eh? It will be our last one for a while."
We frequented different pubs. Officers and NOCOs used one, other ranks the other. The main reason was to give each other space. I knew my lads would behave themselves but they would be uncomfortable with Polly and me looking over their shoulders.
Now that the rain had finally stopped it was a pleasant evening. Dusk was falling and there were people taking constitutionals along the prom. It was a way of bring normality to the war.
"Have you any idea what they want us to do, sir?"
"No, but we are going in by air and coming out by sea. We have to lie up behind the lines."
"That is a bit rough on the new lad isn't it sir? He seems, well a little young."
"We all were once. Don't worry about him. Apparently he was selected for our section. Someone at the training camp thought he had skills we could use."
"Really?"
"Top in shooting and field craft and handy with explosives. I'll check his field record tomorrow but I can't see why he would lie."
"Then he sounds like just what we need."
Reg was in the pub and we joined him when we had paid for our beer. We had a corner in the snug which we used. The locals gave us space and we were always able to talk, albeit quietly. Reg lit up and we drank a third of our pints. The first swallow was always the best. We would savour the rest. Two pints would be our limit.
"You have a good' un there sir."
"Who, Shepherd?"
"Aye, I was checking his service
record. Top in almost everything. The only critical comment was that he was a bit of a loner. Captain Marsden is up there now and he recommended him."
I nodded, now it made sense. "I think once he gets over his shyness he will fit in."
Polly said, "The lads are just loud sir, you know Scouse, got a gob on him like the Mersey Tunnel but he is all right underneath."
"You are right. It is a funny old war throwing us all together."
Reg shook his head, "There's no way the likes of us would have been able to talk to a bloke like you sir. Not without the war."
"Are you certain? I mean I know that was true in my Dad's day but I thought things had changed since the Great War."
"Don't get me wrong sir but you are the exception. You have come through the ranks and you are, well let's call a spade a spade, you are posh but you are all right. Now there are too many like Captain Grenville. Too many full of themselves. That Canadian colonel and captain; they were all right too. They both had a sense of humour and their lads like them. That can make all the difference you know."
"Major Foster is a good bloke."
"He is sir and that proves my point. We are the best brigade in the Commandos and we have the best officers. That Sergeant you knew, Jack Jones, he told me about some of the officers he had served under." He shook his head, "Wouldn't work here. Anyway enough shop. This will be your last night out for a while eh? Let's talk about more pleasant things."
We chatted about this and that: the latest George Formby film, Mrs Bailey's cooking, the price of beer, shortages, queuing. Everything was inconsequential and by the time we left the pub I felt as relaxed as I had in months. I was ready for the next challenge. Being dropped behind enemy lines.
Chapter 5
"You have two missions: first you have to destroy the rail junction just outside Dieppe and then isolate the German Headquarters. Your target is two miles from Dieppe. The Hampden will drop you some way inland and you will make your way to Arques-la-Bataille. It is a swampy area and you should be able to lay up during the day. Aerial photographs show plenty of woods."
Scouse asked, "Can't the RAF knock out the junction and HQ, sir?"
"They could, Fletcher, but it would alert Jerry. It would tell him that something was up. You will strike the night before the dawn assault. It will be too late by then for the Germans to react as the Canadians and other Commandos will have landed.
Fletcher had been right to bring it up but the fact that we had been chosen meant that they must have considered that alternative. I was more worried about other issues. "Sir, blowing the railway line will not be a problem but how do you mean 'isolate the Headquarters'?"
"Just that. Cut the telephone lines and disrupt their radio. Damage their vehicles. Stop them getting information."
"Bring the full force of the Germans on to us, sir."
"In a nutshell, yes, Tom. It will buy the attacking forces time. That might make all the difference. Your eight men can lead them a merry dance."
I nodded. I had had clarification at least. "And where do we rendezvous with Lieutenant Jorgenson?"
"Along the coast, east of Graincourt."
I knew it. We had been there before. "That is a good five or six miles, sir. Won't Number 3 Commando be in the area attacking the batteries there?"
"That is part of the thinking, Tom. Hopefully you will be able to slip through in the confusion."
I looked him in the eye, "Just like St. Nazaire again, sir."
He frowned, "We learned our lesson that day. The RAF will be heavily involved. There will be air support. I am certain it will all go swimmingly"
I realised that I was spitting in the wind. It was a done deal. "Right sir, here is what we need to enable us to pull off this conjuring trick. I want to see a similar set of points over here and I would like to be able to talk to a railway engineer. I take it there is no railway we can blow up?"
He brightened, "That is a damned good idea. You know there might be. There are disused railway lines all over Cornwall. Leave that with me. Anything else?"
"An idea of how many men we can expect at the Headquarters?"
He picked up a couple of sheets of paper and settled on one, "It looks like a Headquarters Company and a Communications unit. Probably no more than a hundred and twenty men all told."
Scouse said, "Doesn't sound like many if you say it quick." He saw the frown and added, "Sorry, sir."
I ignored Scouse's comments. They were understandable. "We will need plenty of explosives and timers, ammunition sir and more of those silencers."
Major Foster looked unhappy. "I can get you five but they are like gold dust."
I still had mine. That would give us six. It would have to do. "And camouflage nets."
"Right." He made a note and then said, "Look chaps. This is important. I know that it is a risky venture but things are not going too well for us in the Med. We have just lost a crucial convoy which was heading for Malta and we are barely holding the Germans in the desert. We need the Germans to move units to the coast and to halt the flow of reinforcements to Africa. It we lose Egypt we lose our oil and that would mean we would lose the war. An attack on Dieppe will make them think this is a precursor to an invasion."
I realised that he had breached numerous rules by confiding in us. It was a measure of the mutual trust.
"Don't worry, sir we will do our best and get the job done but we can't guarantee anything."
"I know, Tom, I know. Here are the dates and times. You and your men will be picked up from your camp on the fourteenth of the month. You will leave England on the fifteenth and parachute into Occupied France. You have the sixteenth and the seventeenth to reconnoitre the railway line and you attack on the night of the eighteenth."
"And if the attack is postponed again, sir?"
"Go ahead with your mission and make your own way out. You and Lieutenant Jorgenson can work out the exact location of your pick up and your own codes." He smiled at Scouse, "I daresay it will be unintelligible Scouse that you use!"
Scouse grinned, "As me da says, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'!"
"Right sir. We will go and begin training. If you could find us an engineer, some points and a line to blow up that would be perfect."
Once away from the Major and when we had assembled our supplies we went up to the tin mine. It was quiet there and easy to think. George Lowe and Ken Shepherd would be the explosive experts and they practised using explosives to blow up the rusted track lines at the mine. The rest practised cutting telegraph and telephone wires. There were quick ways to do these things which did not compromise efficiency. They did the same things over and over again until it was almost second nature. I sat with Polly and studied the aerial photographs of the Headquarters.
"Well, sir, at least it isn't a fortress. There is a barrier on either side of the road and a bit of barbed wire. Those anti aircraft machine guns won't worry us and I can see the barracks block. It is far enough away from the communications set up so that we won't be disturbed."
"You make it sound easy, Sergeant."
"We know it won't be, sir but we can do nothing about the problems we know nothing about can we?"
I shook my head, "No. And we need somewhere to lay up." I looked at the map and photographs. I laughed.
"Something funny sir?"
"Look here. They have a large area of water and swamp at the back of the radio building and there is a small wood. It is surrounded by swamps and water too. If we made that our camp...."
"Then we would be almost in the camp and it would be the last place they would look. We would be in their back yard."
"And the German dogs would not be able to smell us either."
"That is a risk sir but I think you are right. We camp on their doorstep."
A few days later Major Foster made good on his promise. "I have a retired engineer and I have an old railway line. The two are not far from each other. He lives in Truro and the railway line is just a mile or so from whe
re he lives. It is an old line; it hasn't been used in thirty years but it has points. He is keen to help. I said you would pick him up in the morning. Don't tell him where you are going, just that you need to know how to do this. Time is getting on."
"I know sir."
"Sergeant Major Dean has a lorry waiting for you."
Albert Harris was seventy five years old. He looked more like a retired sea captain than a railway engineer. He had a neatly trimmed goatee beard. His waistline showed that he liked food and beer but he was sharp as a tack. His eyes were bright and sparkled at the thought of being involved in the war effort. As we drove up to the railway line he said, "I was too valuable in the Great War. I couldn't do my bit. I am glad to be helping you chaps. I hope that this railway line you are going to blow up is in Occupied Europe."
"I'm afraid that is classified information sir."
He laughed, "I am old but not stupid. It has to be in Europe. Never mind. I have a fertile imagination. I will have to make up where it is. Can you tell me what you have to do?"
I was on safer ground, "There are two railway lines and they merge before heading to an important town. We have to stop trains getting in or out."
"For how long?"
The question confused me, "Is that important?"
"If you have to stop trains using it for a day or so then you won't need much of a charge. A pound or two of dynamite strategically placed should do it but if you want a more permanent destruction then you would have to use a bigger charge or blow up a bridge. That would do the trick."
"The more damage the better sir."
He rubbed his hands, "Excellent!"
He peered out of the windscreen, "I did work on this line when I was a young man. That was in the last century. I helped to build it. Strange to think I am going to blow it up now."
When we reached the site I had the driver light a fire to make a brew. Albert, as he told us to call him, led us to the rusted points. "If you set a small charge here underneath the rail and a second one in the actual points it would damage them sufficiently so that they would need to replace the whole unit. That is a day's work. Trains are funny creatures. They like smooth running. If they don't get it then they jump the rails. They might be big but they can be delicate."
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