The Sixteen

by John Urwin

  Very funny, Bren, I thought.

  Again, the voice called out. I hadn’t a clue what he was saying.

  I called back. ‘OK, OK, cut the joking, Bren. You know I can’t understand a word you’re saying.’

  The man was fairly close to me by now and I suddenly realised that it very obviously wasn’t Bren. The passenger side door opened and the guy turned to jabber something to another guy behind him. There were two of them!

  Just as I was about to take the first guy out, I noticed that the second man was holding something in his hand; it looked like an iron bar but I couldn’t quite make it out because of the headlights behind him. By this time, I was standing directly between the men in front of the truck and where I’d left the others.

  I knew they wouldn’t be far away but wouldn’t want to show themselves at this stage. They wouldn’t be able to use any firepower either because I was in their line of fire. Besides, we didn’t want to draw attention to ourselves – a gunshot could be heard a long way off.

  So I quickly decided to let the second man get nearer to his mate so that I could deal with them both at the same time – I knew I could handle the situation easily. At that moment, I saw a glint of metal in the headlights and realised that the second guy was actually holding a knife. The first man spoke again, then the second guy lunged straight at me. In that instant, The Machine took over!

  I blocked the knife with my left hand and swivelled on my left heel in order to swing my right leg behind me. But my right heel caught on a large stone and I couldn’t get it completely out of the way. The knife was longer that I’d originally thought and I felt a sharp agonising pain as it thudded into my thigh, penetrating down to the bone. Despite the acute pain, I hit underneath the man’s nose hard with the base of my right hand, pushing the nose bone towards his brain. He instantly crumpled to the ground pulling the knife out of my leg as he fell. In the seconds it had taken for this to happen, the lads had quietly despatched his mate.

  Chalky and Dynamo grabbed my shirt then dragged me off the track towards a pile of rocks and lay me against them.

  ‘Kill those bloody lights on that truck, Spot,’ Dynamo said, as Chalky ripped open the top of my trouser leg, which by now was saturated in blood. The pain was excruciating, waves of nausea and dizziness washed over me and my leg felt like a solid lump of lead.

  ‘This would happen, when everything’s gone perfectly so far,’ Chalky commented wryly as he closely examined the wound.

  ‘Trust me to mess things up,’ I moaned back at him.

  ‘Don’t knock yourself, Geordie, this could have happened to any one of us. None of us are that clever, we’ve all got scars of some sort. Besides, it’s the other guy who’s dead not you!’ he reassured me. ‘The trick is to get back alive.’

  ‘Come on, Dynamo, give me a hand,’ Spot said, dragging one of the bodies towards the truck. ‘If we shove this lot over the side it’ll look as though they’ve had an accident.’

  They loaded up the two bodies and pushed the truck off the track where it quickly disappeared and crashed down the steep hillside. They had just reached Chalky and me as we heard the sound of another truck, its headlights flashing off and on as it rounded the bend in the road. It stopped quickly and Bren jumped out.

  ‘Where the hell have you been?’ Dynamo asked him.

  ‘What do you mean, I’m early?’ Bren replied cheerfully.

  ‘Not early enough. Shame you didn’t get here ten minutes earlier.’ Spot told him. ‘Never mind, you’re here now, give us a hand to get Geordie on to the back of the truck.’

  ‘What happened?’ Bren asked, concerned.

  ‘We had a bit of bother with a couple of locals and Geordie’s been stabbed in the leg, we’ll tell you about it on the way back,’ Chalky said.

  Bren produced a small first-aid kit from the truck, which he gave to Chalky. ‘Let’s get out of here quickly, then,’ he said.

  Dynamo and Bren climbed into the cab of the truck while Chalky and Spot jumped into the back with me. Chalky gave me a couple of painkillers and then got to work on my leg.

  The journey back seemed to take forever, and I felt every bump and jolt, but by the time we reached our drop-off point near to the railway embankment the painkillers were working and my leg didn’t feel too bad. Bren stopped the truck and came around to the back to help Chalky and Spot get me down as Dynamo took the guns out of our canvas bags and left them in a sack on the back of the truck.

  ‘Take care, Geordie,’ Bren said. ‘Got to go, catch you later!’ And with that, he jumped back in the cab and drove off.

  Dynamo rushed ahead with the bags as Chalky and Spot hoisted me up, one arm around each of their shoulders, and dragged me along. My leg couldn’t take any weight, which made getting back through the stinking sewer pipe incredibly difficult. It was pitch black and we had to go through it sideways, as it was only wide enough for one person to walk through properly. The stench seemed to be even worse this time, and for a moment I thought I was going to vomit. Dynamo came back after dumping our bags on the beach and shone a torch in front of us, which made it easier.

  Once through we sat on the sand for about ten minutes before we heard someone coming towards us along the beach. Dynamo and Spot quietly got to their feet, immediately ready for any problems. But it was only Ken looking for us.

  ‘What’s happened here?’ he asked, raising his eyebrows in query as he glanced over at me before speaking again to Dynamo. ‘Did you get the job done?’

  ‘Yes it went well apart from this.’ Dynamo pointed towards my injured leg as he spoke. ‘And before you ask we got it!’

  Ken paused briefly before replying: ‘Well done. Come on let’s go.’

  ‘We’ll tell you all about it on the way. OK Geordie? Let’s get out of here!’ Chalky said as he helped me to my feet.

  Ken spoke briskly as he led the way. ‘Right, this way, I’ve got the hack further along the beach, it’s a bit too close to the main road just here. I’ve been here for about fifteen minutes and there’s been quite a few vehicles passing by.’

  They helped me along the beach for about three hundred yards or so to where Ken had landed and promptly lifted me inside on to the floor, and Chalky put a set of headphones on me as the helicopter quickly took off. Both he and Spot clung on to me all the way back. We’d had no sleep for over twenty-four hours and I was suddenly very tired, so with the help of the painkillers and the constant drone of the engine, I quickly fell asleep.

  The next thing I knew we were back at the hangar. Chalky had lifted the headphones off me and the racket of the helicopter woke me up. He and Spot helped me out and, as usual, Ken wasted no time in taking off. It was early Thursday morning and I seemed to spend the hours to lunchtime dozing in and out of sleep.

  Chalky dressed my wound in a type of elastic bandage, which he wrapped right around my leg. The ends of the bandage on each side of the cut were sticky and laced up together like a shoelace. It was quite strange but very effective; I’d never seen anything like it before. He also placed a lint pad covered with antiseptic on to the cut itself before he laced up the dressing, thereby drawing the edges of the wound together.

  ‘It’s a clean cut and with a bit of luck it won’t be infected and should heal up fairly quickly as long as you change the bandages every couple of days. Whatever you do, don’t let anyone see this or you’ll probably have to report sick,’ he warned, as he gave me a couple of spare bandages and some more painkillers. ‘That should do you, but make sure that no one sees that!’ he instructed, pointing to the strange bandage.

  ‘You’ll have to work on that leg,’ Spot warned me. ‘We’ve got until four o’clock tomorrow afternoon to get you back on your feet.’

  The rest of that day and the next I hobbled about, trying to put more and more weight on to my leg, and, by the time I was ready to leave I just had a slight limp. Once back at camp, I’d have the rest of the weekend to work on it. If anyone questioned what had happened, I’d dec
ided to say that I’d caught it on a broken bedspring, and as this was a fairly regular occurrence around the camp, no one would question it!

  CHAPTER 12

  COMING HOME

  At 0900 hours on 24 December 1959, I was sitting on the jetty at Limassol. The place was swarming with thousands of other troops, all like me with their kit, all chatting excitedly about going home, all looking forward to it eagerly. But, gazing towards the distant snow-capped Troodos Mountains, I sat quietly, lost in thought.

  Oh boy, I’m certainly going to miss those guys. I wonder what they’re doing right now, I wondered? Could it be the end for them too? Perhaps they’re sitting here in amongst this lot?

  I eagerly scanned the faces of the waiting troops but saw no one I recognised. I must have sat like that for ten to fifteen minutes when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

  ‘Don’t tell me you’re going t’miss this place, Geordie?’ a voice said, close to my ear.

  I turned quickly. For one brief moment I thought (hoped?) it might be Dynamo, Chalky or Spot, but it was just Bill, sitting next to me.

  ‘What’s t’matter, you were miles away? You’re not really going to miss this stinking place, are you?’

  ‘No, of course not, Bill,’ I replied quietly. If only he knew, if only I could tell him what I was really going to miss and what I was going through right at that moment. It was as bad as the wrench I’d felt leaving my family two years before, the same yet very different, and for very different reasons. But I felt just as empty!

  For the last eighteen months, those guys had become the brothers I had never had.

  No one in my life so far had treated me the way they had, with them I’d been a man among men. Yet we’d never once discussed a single personal thing, they’d merely accepted me for what I was, for what they knew I could be, for what I became. They had always treated me with respect, as their equal and with them I’d always felt that I truly belonged. The worst thing about leaving was the absolute knowledge that once I left there could be no turning back. I would never see them again.

  I’d hated every single minute of being in the army, the regular army that is, and was really longing to see my family again. But I’d changed completely and part of me desperately wanted to stay behind with the guys. I’d never wanted medals or glory, just the chance to prove to myself that I wasn’t thick or stupid like my dad thought. Ever since I’d been a kid, I’d always felt different, the odd one out, and yet even then I’d known that I’d been different, better than what he said about me, that I hadn’t been stupid.

  But now, when for once in my life I’d done something that would prove just what I was capable of, I was completely unable to tell a soul about it. How could I? Doing so would be to betray their trust and besides, who would believe me anyway? I was just a young Geordie lad doing his National Service in the Pioneer Corps.

  Now, sitting looking at the mountains with the moment of leaving only minutes away, I felt so alone and empty. There was a hollow, sickly feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  Is this the end then, or just another beginning? Just how far could I have gone with them, I wondered. One thing I was absolutely certain of, I would never, ever meet their like again.

  It was a few weeks since I’d last seen them, but it felt like only yesterday when Ken had told me the bad news. His words were imprinted on my brain. I’ll never be able to forget that day. It was the day that a part of me died, the day that for the first time in my life I’d wanted to shout and swear, using every disgusting word in the book!

  I’d been collected and taken up to the old tin hut as usual but had been surprised to see Ken there as, on the way up in the jeep, Chalky hadn’t said anything about there being a job on. Ken had said he wanted to see me alone, but I’d never dreamt that it would be to tell me what he did.

  He’d stood in front of me and immediately I’d sensed that something was seriously wrong.

  His whole manner had been so different. His face had a look of sadness and he even stammered slightly as he began to speak.

  ‘Er, Geordie, um, I don’t want you to misunderstand what I’m about to say, but obviously I can’t explain in too much detail because of security. When I heard that you wanted to sign on for another three years it really was the best news we could have received, and when I say “we” I mean all of us in this tin hut, as you call it.’ He smiled, briefly.

  ‘Believe me, Geordie, it really was the best news. You surprised every one of us here, far beyond what we expected. So you see, Geordie, lad, you really were one of us more than you could ever imagine, which is why it’s killing me to tell you this, but I’m afraid your time is up, old boy. You’re going to have to go home with the rest of them, which really should be good news, shouldn’t it? But it bloody well isn’t!’

  It felt as if the bottom had just fallen out of my world. I was speechless, totally dumbstruck by the shock of his words and just stood there staring at him in utter disbelief. Surely he had to be joking, I thought. But I could see by his face that he wasn’t, he looked utterly wretched.

  ‘It’s like this,’ he went on, his voice seeming to come from a long way off. ‘As you know, in February this lot buried the hatchet, the government allowed Makarios back in March and has agreed to let them have their way. Early next year it’s going to become a republic. National Service is all washed up and your lot are off home soon; we’ve known about it for some time now but we were hoping that we could find a way around it. Believe me we’ve tried, but it seems that there are some things which are impossible, even for us!

  ‘You see, Geordie, if you signed on now you would be signing on for the regiment that you’re in, but that whole regiment is now going back to Blighty and it will be very difficult for us to recall you. There are going to be some big changes for us too, but I can’t say what they are. It has suited our purposes for you to be where you were and in the outfit you were in. Although 518 Company will be staying behind, the “things” which have helped to make all of this possible won’t be here then, so even getting you transferred to them would be pointless, if you understand what I am getting at,’ he said, meaningfully. ‘The changes about to take place on this island are going to affect all of us, we need to have you where we need you, Geordie, and that just isn’t possible with your regiment being sent back.

  ‘I’m afraid that the only thing that you’re going to get out of this, Geordie, is some crummy Active Service Medal,’ he said, his voice heavy with sadness.

  ‘No, Ken, no!’ I burst out, suddenly finding my voice. ‘Don’t say that, it’s not true. You’re totally wrong, I’ve got something that I’ve wanted all of my life. You’ve made me what I’ve always wanted to be, you’ve given me what I’ve always wanted – my confidence! All I ever wanted was pride and self-confidence and it doesn’t matter to me if no one ever knows. I’ll know it! That’s the only medal I want and believe me, Ken, I’ll wear that badge with pride for the rest of my life!’

  For the rest of that afternoon we did nothing. The five of us just sat drinking tea, laughing and talking about the jobs we’d done, the places we’d been together and how we had made fools of them all. The lads did their very best to cheer me up, but nothing really could. A huge part of me had died!

  I knew that they, like Ken, were genuinely saddened by the situation and I left them as I’d joined them, knowing nothing more about any of them at all other than that they were, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the finest, most remarkable men I would ever meet.

  They each shook my hand in turn, too saddened by the situation to say much. I just couldn’t speak, I was choked, totally gutted by the fact that I would never see them or be with them again.

  I’d thought long and hard about signing on and believed that it was merely up to me to make a decision and that once I had, they would be able to sort everything out as they always had done before. It had never occurred to me that anything like this might happen.

  Ken placed his hand on my shoulder, his gaze stead
y and direct, and his voice heavy with regret. ‘You were a soldier of the future, Geordie,’ he said, but I didn’t quite understand what he meant. ‘Things will be different believe me, one day you’ll see. Look after yourself, lad.’ Then turning quickly, he walked away without looking back.

  ‘Take care, Geordie,’ Spot spoke quietly and gripped my hand, then he too turned and followed Ken.

  Dynamo shook my hand vigorously and leaned over to whisper in my ear: ‘I’ll tell you a secret, Geordie, I come from the place where they make the best cheese,’ he said quietly, then stepped back and looked directly at me.

  ‘Never mind, nothing lasts forever you know, does it? But we certainly showed them how it was done, eh!’ he said with a wink, then he too turned away and was gone.

  I stood rooted to the spot.

  ‘Come on, Geordie, time to go, let’s not hang about,’ Chalky said quietly and for the last time I climbed into the jeep alongside him.

  ‘You were the best, Geordie, the fastest learner I’ve ever seen! Always remember that,’ he said as he started the engine.

  ‘You don’t have to try to cheer me up by saying things like that,’ I told him, my throat constricting as eventually I managed to speak.

  He shook his head. ‘No, honestly, Geordie, believe me I’m serious.’

  We didn’t speak again until he stopped to drop me off.

  ‘Take care, Geordie,’ was all he said, then winked and spun the jeep around and drove off in a thick cloud of dust. I just stood there watching him disappear, shocked and numb.

  I was supposed to have been working at another camp that day and waited at the side of the road for the working party truck to come by and pick me up. I wanted to be on my own; not with a bunch of noisy joking blokes and for a while I sat quietly, not joining in or making conversation with the other lads.

  ‘Cheer up, Geordie, it might never happen.’ The lad next to me poked me in the ribs. Suddenly I remembered what Dynamo had whispered.