Sergeant Johnson said, "And that is right sir! We would all be dead but for Tom sir."
Captain Foster turned to me, "You are a constant surprise Corporal, and yet you should not be. You are your father in every way shape and form. You may not be a fighter ace but you are something just as good, you are a Commando!"
I nodded; I had tried to escape my name and escape my past but I could not. My father's blood coursed through my veins too. I had been a fool to think I could avoid a comparison. This was not a competition. I was a Harsker and I was just doing what my dad had done and my grandfather too. I daresay if I had gone back in time I would have found Harskers doing the same thing at the Alma, Waterloo, Blenheim; probably back to Agincourt and Crecy. You don't change your blood.
"Thank you sir, I take that as a compliment." I took out the papers I had recovered from the Kübelwagen. "I found these too sir. I thought they might have some useful information in them. "
He nodded, "And I am glad that you decided to join us. The 1st Loyals' loss is our gain."
As I trudged towards the waiting lorries I was happy that I had left the OTC and University. That had led me to the 1st Loyals and that in turn had taken me here. I was only a corporal but I was a corporal in the Commandos and it did not get any better than that.
The End
Glossary
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)
MTB- Motor Torpedo Boat
Oik- worthless person (slang)
Oppo/oppos- pals/comrades (slang)
Potato mashers- German Hand Grenades (slang)
Schnellboote -German for E-boat (literally fast boat)
Scragging - roughing someone up (slang)
Scrumpy- farm cider
Stag- sentry duty (slang)
squaddy- ordinary soldier (slang)
Tommy (Atkins)- Ordinary British soldier
Two penn'orth- two pennies worth (slang for opinion)
WVS- Women's Voluntary Service
Maps
Courtesy of Wikipedia
The retreat to Dunkirk
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.
During the retreat the British tank, the Matilda was superior to the German Panzer. 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 they had many more times the 17 Matildas who actually held them up. 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.
The Germans 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 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.
Reference Books used
The Commandos Pocket Manual 1949-45: Christopher Westhorp
The Second World War Miscellany: Norman Ferguson
Army Commandos 1940-45: Mike Chappell
World War II: Donald Sommerville
The Historical Atlas of World War II: Swanston and Swanston
Griff Hosker June 1915
Other books
By
Griff Hosker
If you enjoyed reading this book then why not read another one by the author?
Ancient History
The Sword of Cartimandua Series (Germania and Britannia 50A.D. – 128 A.D.)
Ulpius Felix- Roman Warrior (prequel)
Book 1 The Sword of Cartimandua
Book 2 The Horse Warriors
Book 3 Invasion Caledonia
Book 4 Roman Retreat
Book 5 Revolt of the Red Witch
Book 6 Druid’s Gold
Book 7 Trajan’s Hunters
Book 8 The Last Frontier
Book 9 Hero of Rome
Book 10 Roman Hawk
Book 11 Roman Treachery
Book 12 Roman Wall
The Wolf
Warrior series (Britain in the late 6th Century)
Book 1 Saxon Dawn
Book 2 Saxon Revenge
Book 3 Saxon England
Book 4 Saxon Blood
Book 5 Saxon Slayer
Book 6 Saxon Slaughter
Book 7 Saxon Bane
Book 8 Saxon Fall: Rise of the Warlord
The Dragon Heart Series
Book 1 Viking Slave
Book 2 Viking Warrior
Book 3 Viking Jarl
Book 4 Viking Kingdom
Book 5 Viking Wolf
Book 6 Viking War
Book 7 Viking Sword
Book 8 Viking Wrath
The Aelfraed Series (Britain and Byzantium 1050 A.D. - 1085 A.D.)
Book 1 Housecarl
Book 2 Outlaw
Book 3 Varangian
The Anarchy Series (England 1120-1180)
English Knight
Knight of the Empress
Northern Knight
Modern History
The Napoleonic Horseman Series
Chasseurs à Cheval
Napoleon’s Guard
British Light Dragoon
Soldier Spy
1808: The Road to Corunna
Waterloo
The Lucky Jack American Civil War series
Rebel Raiders
Confederate Rangers
The Road to Gettysburg
The British Ace Series
1914
1915 Fokker Scourge
1916 Angels over the Somme
1917 Eagles Fall
1918 We will remember them
Combined Operations (Europe 1939-45)
Commando
Other Books
Great Granny’s Ghost (Aimed at 9-14 year old young people)
Adventure at 63-Backpacking to Istanbul
For more information on all of the books then please visit the author’s web site at http://www.griffhosker.com where there is a link to contact him.
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