*
A group of German soldiers in green uniforms were standing across the Jerbourg Road when the police cycled past. They were guarding the place in the road where the barricade had been made from heavy stones. There were more soldiers dotted along the road. Jack and David reached their section. He took a foot from a pedal, dismounted and leant the bicycle against a garden wall. There were a number of houses, but a lot of the land had been taken over as farms, ample ground for the soldiers to hide in. Jack didn’t know how long it would take to find them. He didn’t know if he even wanted to, it could put him and his family in danger, but as always he had a duty to do.
Jack marched up to the German soldiers to present himself. As he drew near he threw a salute and introduced himself. After a moment of awkward shuffling between the soldiers one of them stepped forward. He was over six feet tall and made even Jack feel short. He shook hands with Jack.
‘Leutnant Henrik Bäcker, Feldgendarmerie. Pleased to meet you, Constable.’ Henrik looked very much like many of the other Germans, a strong face with a faint hint of blond stubble, sea blue eyes looking out from between the field grey of his uniform. He was what they would describe as a true Aryan. There was a warmth to his smile that was equal parts reassuring and unsettling. He gestured to a man beside him. ‘This is unterfeldwebel … Sergeant Gerhart Hofmann, my second.’ Gerhart smiled with a kindness Jack hadn’t expected. He was a stocky man, with a pugilist’s nose, but the grin suited him. Jack was becoming increasingly familiar with the smiles of his enemies, and he didn’t like it.
‘This is PC David Roussel,’ he said, feeling he should continue the introductions, as David joined them. Everyone exchanged nods.
‘Your inspector has informed you of what happened?’ Henrik asked.
Jack and David nodded. ‘We were briefed this morning,’ Jack said, not wanting to give away too much.
‘Good.’ The leutnant didn’t seem concerned. ‘Why don’t you two check on the houses over there. I’m sure the locals would rather see you on their doorstep than us. And we will continue checking the nearby lands for any clues.’
‘We’ll report back here when we’re finished,’ Jack said as he turned, pulling David after him. Together they went to the first house in the row, the one furthest from where the barricade had been constructed, but there was no answer. Whoever lived there must have been at work. Jack moved along to the next house while David peered in through the windows.
‘Hello. What’s that?’ David kicked a bit of metal and it slid a few feet in Jack’s direction. It was unmistakable to anyone who had spent any time around the British army, or the Guernsey militia. It was a magazine from a rifle.
David whistled. ‘Ooh, the British have been here all right. What on earth were they up to? Better keep that to show the old man.’
Jack nodded and pocketed it. Whether he would report it or not was another matter, but he didn’t intend to tell David that. Jack liked to weigh up his options. They tried the rest of the cottages in the lane, but had no luck. Eventually they walked to the cottage at the end farthest away from the area the Germans had been searching and Jack rapped three times on the door then, as usual, waited patiently a step or two away from the doorstep.
‘Oh, hullo, Arthur,’ Jack said as the door opened and Arthur Parr looked out.
‘Hello, Jack. What brings you here?’ Arthur was one of the farmers who worked on the nearby lands, and Jack knew him in passing.
‘We’ve got reason to believe there are some British soldiers operating in the area. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you?’
Arthur shook his head. ‘Sorry, not me. I wouldn’t even know what they look like. Good luck though.’
Jack nodded, remembering vaguely that Arthur had spent some time in the army himself. It was entirely likely that the soldiers had turned to him when their raid had failed. Ditching their equipment had been foolish, but perhaps they had had no choice, perhaps thinking it would distract the Germans enough to give the soldiers time to hide. Maybe, as the equipment had been left by the edge of the trees, they had wanted them to think the soldiers had gone off into the woods.
Jack adjusted his stance to get a look around Arthur and into the house. He could see the dining table upon which sat four cups and saucers, as well as a pot of tea. ‘Why then, are there four cups of tea on your table? Who are they for?’
‘Oh, them? They’re for me and my mum. I’ve just washed them up. I’d invite you in, but I’m sure you don’t have the time.’
Arthur let the door close by an extra inch, as if they were done. It was clear from his reaction that he hadn’t expected the police to knock on his door. Inside Jack could just make out a hallway door gliding open, before being hauled back. It happened in a flash, but Jack was certain he had seen a khaki sleeve. Jack had seen enough. He wouldn’t push the issue now, but he would have to tell the old man when he got back to the station. Let the chief decide what to do with the information.
‘You’ll let us know if you see anything, won’t you?’
‘Sure, Jack. Whatever you say.’ Arthur smiled in a way that said he had no intention of doing anything of the sort, then shut the door a little too quickly.
David and Jack retreated back up the lane, while he wondered what he would tell the old man. When they had regrouped with the Germans, the two groups checked the area, including some local caves, for another hour or so. Occasionally they found the odd piece of military equipment, but no sign of the soldiers who had left them. The telephone wires in the area had been cut, but apart from that they had left no visible signs of sabotage.
Back at the station, they had come to no real conclusion as to what had happened to the soldiers, but Jack suspected that he knew where at least some of them were.
‘What did you find, PC Godwin?’ the inspector asked as he came downstairs to check on the investigation. Other policemen had gone out on their regular beats. Jack weighed up his options. He would never tell the chief that he had seen Henry, but he would tell him about the soldiers. It was the best way to make sure that he was above suspicion.
‘We didn’t find much, sir. Apart from this.’ He handed over the magazine. ‘But I have a feeling that some of the soldiers may be hiding out in the cottage at La Corbière.’
‘What makes you say that?’
He recounted what had happened, telling the inspector of how Arthur had responded, the tea set he had seen, and the khaki uniform.
‘Don’t do anything until I’ve checked with the bailiff.’
The inspector left the police station immediately, leaving Jack to finish his entry in the occurrence book. Even with the Germans on the island, the bailiff was still in charge of legal matters and he would advise the old man what they should do, or whether they should just leave the Germans to it. Jack waited, wondering whether he should find other duties, but he couldn’t stop staring at the clock. It was almost ten minutes later when the inspector returned and marched back into the office, his face red.
‘Ah, Constable,’ he said. ‘I’ve spoken to the bailiff and let’s just say that he “blew his top” at the suggestion a citizen was harbouring the British. He told me that if the soldiers weren’t handed over to the Germans immediately then you and PC Roussel would be arrested.’
‘Arrested, sir?’ Jack’s heart thumped, and he wondered what the bailiff would do. The inspector held up a hand to wave away Jack’s panic.
‘It’s an idle threat, but if you can make contact with the soldiers and advise them to surrender to the Germans, then I think we can solve this little problem.’
‘Yes, sir!’ Jack saluted. He daren’t think what would happen if he couldn’t convince the soldiers to turn themselves in. He hoped that Henry wasn’t with them, but then his friend was supposed to have left the island by now.
*
When Jack knocked on the door of the cottage again, after a frantic cycle from the police station, it took a minute or so to open. Jack was thank
ful as it gave him a chance to catch his breath and try and come up with something to say. It wasn’t Arthur who wrenched the door back on its hinges, but a soldier Jack recognised. It was the sergeant he had spoken to during the evacuation.
‘It’s okay, I know him,’ he shouted back over his shoulder into the room. He hadn’t seen the man since the army had evacuated from St Peter Port. ‘Quick, get inside, son.’
The soldier led him into the kitchen where three other soldiers sat at the round wooden table. They quietly sipped tea from fine china mugs and eyed Jack warily. Arthur stood in the corner with his arms crossed. His face showed he was deep in thought. The sergeant introduced Jack to the men. ‘We suspected you’d be back,’ he said.
They looked at Jack as if he were their enemy, and he felt a great sense of unease building, as if he were on trial. All he could think about was that he was glad Henry wasn’t there. His friend must have made it off the island after all.
‘I’m not here to arrest you,’ Jack said. He realised he sounded like a schoolteacher. ‘But you need to hand yourself in. You can’t just hide out here waiting for the war to finish. Even if you ditch all your khaki and equipment the Germans will know who you are.’
The soldiers stared gloomily at him, the tea forgotten. ‘They’ve introduced ID papers,’ Jack continued. ‘And anyone caught without one can be locked up. If they find you in hiding, it’ll be bad for anyone who helped you.’
He looked over at Arthur, who nodded, then looked over at the soldiers. ‘You’re right. And to be honest we’ve been having the same discussion here. It’s taken us all morning, but they’ve come to a decision.’
‘The raid was a complete bust,’ one of the soldiers added, with a thick accent Jack thought might have been Scottish. ‘We couldn’t do any significant damage, not even to the telephone masts. This little island is more resilient than we thought. We’ve got to take the consequences of that.’
‘What will you do?’ Jack asked, relieved that his argument seemed to have worked. Their faces were downcast but resolute.
‘I’ll go and see the attorney general,’ Arthur replied. ‘Appeal to his good nature and see if he’ll smooth things over with the Germans.’
‘Then we’ll all go and turn ourselves in,’ the sergeant took over. ‘Put our uniforms on so they don’t think we’re spies. They’ll have to treat us as POWs. Then? Who knows …’
The sergeant left the rest unspoken, but every man in that room could feel the tension. He held out a hand for Jack to shake, gripping it firmly. ‘Thank you, son.’
‘For what?’ Jack asked. He felt a small pang of shame.
‘For not coming in here and rounding us all up. For making us see sense. You don’t know how much you’ve done. Thank you for helping us realise we’ve made the right decision. I knew there was something about you when I first met you. Good luck, son.’
When the soldiers turned themselves in to the police station later that day, it was the last time Jack ever saw the sergeant. He knew then that Johanna hadn’t been exaggerating when she had told him not to trust the Germans. He would have to be careful.
Chapter 10
1 August 1940
He hated going to see the Germans more than he hated anything else about this sorry affair. If he had his way, he would keep as far away from them as possible. Jack had been waiting for a few minutes, but then he had always thought it was a good idea to be early, even when attending on the Germans. The fewer reasons they had to be unhappy with him, the better. He enjoyed his work, but recently it had seemed as if they were no longer doing the work they were supposed to be doing. Today was a good example. The chief was trying to impress to their new German occupiers, and he was using Jack to do it. The old man had assigned Jack to head down to the Royal Hotel with the car and collect the German Kommandant, then to drive him to the states offices. Then he was to escort the man inside, wait for him to finish, then take them back to the Royal Hotel. Today was the first time the States of Guernsey had met since the occupation had begun, and the German Kommandant and his associates were attending the meeting. It was far from what Jack expected his police duties to be, but he could hardly refuse.
Jack sat in his car outside the hotel waiting. The kommandant’s timing was usually impeccable. He prided himself on the efficiency of his forces and their timekeeping was no different. Jack thought that maybe there was something they could all learn from the Germans. But if the price of efficiency was being ruled by a foreign army, then maybe it wasn’t worth it after all. Jack checked his wristwatch, the watch that had belonged to his father; he was two minutes early.
As soon as he looked up, the kommandant and his interpreter marched out of the hotel. Jack barely had time to open the car door before the kommandant jumped into the back seat. The Wolseley Salon de Ville was used to having criminals in the back, but now all motor vehicles were to be used by the German authorities or with their permission. The kommandant had even gone as far as attaching Nazi emblems, which waved like pennants on the wings of the car, as if the Islanders weren’t already aware that everything belonged to them.
Jack wondered why the kommandant hadn’t imported his own car for use while he was here. Only the very best German engineering for the representative of the Reich in the Channel Islands. Jack fought a smirk as he drove the car up to the states offices, the sound of its engine reverberating off the surrounding stone buildings. It was like the burr of an aircraft engine, rich and warm, and Jack found it reassuring. He didn’t get the opportunity to drive much, and was at least thankful for that simple pleasure that so many others had been denied.
When they arrived at the states offices, which was only a short walk away, he rushed to open the rear passenger door. He was faintly aware of a camera flash going off beside him, but he paid no attention to the reporters who were here for the occasion. The kommandant stepped out of the car, pulling the shirt of his uniform straight. The German walked around the back of the car and up the steps of the offices all without acknowledging Jack. So much for manners, Jack thought, before hastily shutting the door and moving around to follow the men inside. He was supposed to be an escort, but the Germans obviously had no intention of allowing him to be. The chief wouldn’t be happy with him if Jack didn’t do his job, no matter what the Germans thought. The two Germans walked along the corridor, politely working their way past the civil servants and other staff, before pushing through a set of double doors and into the main meeting chamber.
Jack didn’t follow after them, instead taking a position outside the door where he could see the room and also be ready to leave when needed. No one had told him to attend the meeting, but equally no one had told him that he couldn’t. He was curious what would happen now that the Germans were in attendance, and his role as a policeman gave him a unique opportunity to observe, after all, as security. Not that the Germans needed it, as they were the only ones with any weapons. At least, they were supposed to be. Jack had heard rumours that there were still a few weapons in the possession of civilians and farmers around the island.
Jack couldn’t see the entire chamber from where he stood, but he would be able to hear almost everything.
The German Kommandant sat himself on the main chair in the chamber, directly beneath the sigil of the States of Guernsey. The seat would normally be reserved for the attorney general, but the thin man sat in another chair at the side of the conference table. The attorney general should have been leading the meeting, but he had decided to show deference to the Germans. Although, Jack wondered whether the man had really had any choice. The attorney general welcomed the Germans and started with a speech.
‘I have frequently over the past few weeks been perplexed and baffled by the problems that have arisen,’ he said. ‘I wished that I might have been doing the type of work to which I was accustomed. I certainly never realised how little I know about anything.’
Jack winced as the attorney general sat down. He had little dealing with the man before,
having seen him in the trials, but it seemed now as if he was doing everything he could to show that he was unfit to govern. What the Islanders really wanted was someone to be strong, to stand up to the Germans and show that, even though they occupied the islands, the Islanders wouldn’t be pushed around. He was playing into their hands. What hope did the rest of the Islanders have in resisting the Germans if the man in charge behaved like this?
‘Jack? What are you doing here?’ a voice whispered from behind him and he turned. Beth stood, holding a pile of papers to her chest. She pursed her lips and frowned. She was dressed in a neat grey matching woollen blouse and skirt, more smart than Jack had ever seen her wear before. When they were kids their group had gone off into the woods together, roaming and exploring, and Beth had always been the one to tell Jack off for getting stuck in a bush, or rolling down a hill.
‘I err, escorted the kommandant here,’ he said, sounding like a scolded schoolboy. Beth was only three years older than him, but every time she spoke to him he still felt like a child. Her age had always made her like the mother of their friendship group, and she had revelled in it.
‘I know that,’ she replied, shifting the papers as if she was crossing her arms. ‘But what are you doing inside? This is a private area.’
‘It is? I was … Er … Told to wait inside for the kommandant.’ It wasn’t a complete lie at least. He didn’t expect the German commander would care where he was as long as he was ready to leave at the end. As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t be a good idea to keep him waiting, even if he was capable of opening his own door.
‘It’s a good thing I know you, Jack Godwin. Otherwise I would have to report you.’
A faint smile played at the corners of her lips.
‘I had no idea that you worked here,’ he said, trying to shift the focus away from him. His voice was a whisper, careful not to be heard by the other people in the room.
The German Nurse Page 10