1915 Fokker Scourge (British Ace Book 2) (21 page)

“Are you lads coming?”

Lumpy pointed to the Engineers.  “Best let them get it first sir and that way we might have a warm billet for the night.”

A wise man was our
soon to be Sergeant Hutton. I strolled along to the mess that they were using. I saw Bert in the line and I waited until he had his tea and bacon sandwich.  Of course the men called it ‘
a bacon butty’
.  Back home it might be a bacon bap but whatever it was called the smell made you hungry. When I had spoken with Bert I would grab one myself.

I waited until he and his mates had collected their steaming mugs and were walking back to the building site munching on the steaming, greasy feasts
before I approached him. “Now then Bert!”

He grinned from ear to ear.  “I heard this was your airfield and wondered if I would see you. Cedric told me about your crash.  You had better not tell mum she worries enough anyway.”

“Aye well it is a good job that she knows nowt about what you do either.  I heard that some of your lads were killed by a mine.”

He shrugged as he finished the butty and wiped the grease from his face with the back of his hand.  He pointed to the sky.  “We are both in the same boat really.  Something bad happens to you and you fall from the sky.  Something bad happens to me and the sky, so to speak, falls in on us. Both are less of a risk than dying like Tom and John
, charging machine guns.”

He was right.

“Lance Corporal Harsker, stop bothering that officer and get back to work!”

I turned and saw a Second Lieutenant.  He looked to be about fourteen and I was
not even sure he had started shaving. “Thank you Lieutenant but my brother is not bothering me and,” I waved my arm around at the other engineers who were on their break, “as you can see it is their break.”

He blushed, “Sorry sir, I didn’
t know.  Er carry on Harsker!”

Bert said drily, “Thank you sir.  Very good of you I’m sure.”

The officer beetled away as quickly as he could. “Who is that?”

“Lieutenant Smythe; he’s not so bad.”

One of his mates said, “Aye so long as he doesn’t give any orders.  He hasn’t the first clue.”

“That’s enough Arthur.  He’s our officer and we support him.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyway Bill, he’s right we should get back to work.  We have to get this done in two days and the ground is frozen solid.  We’ll chat again.” He gave an exaggerated salute and a wink, “Sir!”

As I strolled off to get myself a bacon sandwich I found myself marvelling at the change in Bert.  He had become a self confident young man and had a maturity beyond his years.  The army had been good for him.  I hoped that the war would be as kind.

The wooden quarters were finished just
in time.  The weather got even colder and wetter. Christmas was almost upon us. Gordy was delighted and thankful to be the first one to be granted leave.  He had a week. He had the shortest journey of any of us for Mary lived in London.  It would be less than a day’s travel whereas the rest of us would need a whole day just to get home.  We would have a bare five days with our loved ones.  That was the luck of the draw and none of us begrudged Gordy his extra hours with his young lady.

As we said goodbye he was like a puppy with two tails. “I am grateful that you lads decided that I could be the first to go on leave.  I can’t wait to see Mary.”

“You ought to think about telling her your intentions Gordy.”

“I told you; she has been made a widow once and I am not going to turn her into another one. 
This war can’t go on forever.  We will wait. I’ll make sure we have a lovely leave together.”

I was not sure.  I had seen too many young men die and Gordy was not immortal.

The Engineers had done a good job.  Each mess had a pot bellied stove as did the barracks.  The officers were quartered in separate bedrooms but we all shared one building, again warmed by a pot bellied stove. I had forgotten what it was like to be warm and I found myself sitting on a chair before the stove smoking my pipe and not actually doing anything.  I just luxuriated in the warmth of the cosy room. I realised that we took such things for granted when at home but they were precious and to be savoured.

Our aeroplane was repaired on Christmas Eve.  I received permission from the colonel to take her up for a test.  Johnny and Freddy insisted on accompanying me.  Ostensibly it was to see how their own repaired aeroplanes had fared but I knew they were watching over me.

We headed for the front. It was quiet. The guns had been silent for a few days.  There might not be a truce but the soldiers on the ground wanted a peaceful Christmas even in the damp and muddy trenches rimmed with frost. I had decided not to risk No-Man’s Land and so we climbed to nine thousand feet.  It was too cold to stooge around there too long and I took the flight down to a thousand feet.  It was still cold but the aeroplane preferred it.

It was such a clear day that we could see behind the German lines.  There appeared to be a lot of traffic on the roads.  There were both vehicles and horses.  I was tempted to go and see what it meant but I was aware that there were just three of us and I could not risk it. We landed and I told the Major of my discovery.

“Interesting.  Do you think they are trying something? Perhaps they intend an attack during or just after Christmas?”

“I don’t know sir.  We know that they think things through better than we do and their generals appear to have some thought to their plans.”

The Major gave me a wry smile, “It is sad to see one so young and yet so cynical. I’ll have a chat with the colonel. Now you go and get a warm.”

With a quarter of the squadron on leave it was a comfortable time to be in the mess.
The Engineers had given us a sort of lounge with wooden chairs and a basic table and a door led to the dining area.  The food was brought from the kitchens.  It was a simple arrangement but there were only fifteen officers and it suited us.

I sat and read a two month old newspaper.  It felt almost civilised. Ted joined me.  “You know Bill we could
do with a few comfortable chairs.  I mean it is Christmas Day tomorrow.  I don’t fancy sitting around getting splinters up me backside!”

“You have such a way with words.” I had a sudden idea. “Go and get a lorry, I think I know where we can get some.”

Ted got on well with the sergeants and he honked the horn in no time at all.  I grabbed my coat and was about to climb on board when Captain Marshall appeared.  “Where are you two off to?”

“We are going to do a little bit of Christmas shopping.”

I could see the puzzled look on his face as Ted headed for the gate.  I directed him towards the front. “We aren’t going to the German lines are we?  I mean I don’t mind it in a Gunbus but not a lorry.”

“Trust me we will get nowhere near the front.”
Ten minutes later I said, “Turn in here.”

We pulled up next to the deserted farmhouse where Lumpy and I had crashed our aeroplane. I opened the living door and said, “Tara,” like a fanfare.

Ted smiled. “I take the folks here have gone.”

“This is about the only stuff worth taking.
I don’t think they would want it now.”  We carried the three armchairs and the couch and put them in the back of the lorry. We explored the house.  We found other homely touches which we took: a small table complete with dirty lace cloth, an oil lamp and a padded footstool.

Feeling pleased with ourselves we headed back to the airfield. Most of the other officers were still busy with their aeroplanes or catching forty winks in a warm bedroom.  Ted and I arranged the furniture.  We stood back feeling well pleased with ourselves. Having acquired the furniture we claimed the two armchairs next to the stove.  I lit my pipe and resumed the reading of my paper. Ted lit a cigarette and stretched out his legs as though he was back home in his own parlour.

The door opened and the Major and Captain Marshall stood there. Captain Marshall began to laugh, “I see now what you meant about shopping! Where on earth did you get it?”

“There was a bombed out farmhouse
just down the road, close to where I crashed.  Everything of value had been taken; apart from these.”

Major Leach shook me vigorously by the hand.  “You deserve a medal for this alone.  I have a bottle of blended whisky.  That seat is mine. I’ll be back in a minute.”

As the dusk fell the four of us sat with a glass of whisky in our hands feeling at one with the world.  When the lieutenants came in their jaws dropped then they all fought for a place on the couch next to Captain Marshall. It was the last comfortable seat left. Freddy showed intelligence by grabbing the footstool.

Johnny asked the major, “Where did it come from?”

“Father Christmas!”

They looked at the major as though he was drunk. He shook his head, “Captain Harsker here
got them.  That is showing initiative. And remember you young men, these chairs are for you only when we are not here! Respect your elders!”

It all made for a much more pleasant Christmas.  We had no parcels from the Royal Family this year but extra rations were sent and the cooks made a good effort to give us a pleasant and hearty meal. The colonel made sure that the older officers were around for the whole of the day.  For most of these young men it was their first time away from home. Considering we were in France and a few miles from the enemy it was quite a jolly Christmas.

Two days after Christmas t
he colonel sanctioned a patrol over the German lines to see what the activity had been. He impressed upon us that we were not to engage with the enemy unless it was impossible to avoid.

Major Leach led and I followed with my flight.  Ted was the rear flight. The lines seemed quiet as we flew over.  Every nerve was strained like the wires on our fuselage. We crossed No Man’s
Land and I expected the crump of guns but it was silent.  There were Germans below us but they were not firing at us. The Major took us north, away from Loos to inspect the Ypres sector. The story was the same there. 

I almost had a crick in my neck from looking over my shoulder.  We saw not a single German aeroplane.  It was weird. It was as though they had decided to stop the war for a short time.

After we had landed the colonel held the debriefing in the new and more comfortable surroundings of the mess. “So Archie, you are saying that they weren’t being reinforced and they weren’t planning an offensive?”

The major looked perplexed. “It was strange.  I expected them to take pot shots at us but they didn’t.  It was all quiet.”

Captain Marshall had been doodling.  He did that to help him think.  “Bill you couldn’t know if the Germans were bringing stuff to the front or taking it away could you?”

“No.  I just saw vehicles and assumed that they were reinforcing.”

“And that is logical but suppose they were moving men and materials away from this front and this sector to reinforce somewhere else.”

“That would make sense,” Archie nodded his agreement.

We sat in silence taking it all in.  “There is one way to find out you know sir.”

“And what is that Captain?”

“Fly over to their airfield.” I saw some of the lieutenants pale.  “We would only have to get close enough to count the aeroplanes. There were two squadrons.  Anything less means they have moved them.  If there are two then it means they are up to something. We would only be travelling twenty miles further than we did today.  If we go in at high altitude we should be safe.”

The
Major looked at the colonel and they nodded. Ted shook his head, “It is my turn to go on leave the day after tomorrow.  If anything happens to me I’ll have you, Billy Harsker!”

I laughed, “That is what I like the old pessimistic Ted Thomas
is back.”

It was another crisp and cold day when we took off. 
I led the flight as I was the one who knew the route better than the rest.  I was happy with that responsibility.  That way I could determine the height and initiate a retreat if necessary. When we had passed the front I noticed that there were less vehicles parked and fewer tents. Men had been moved.  As we neared the airfield we armed our weapons.  I knew that Hutton had acquired another couple of Mills bombs.  I didn’t ask where from. It was, however, reassuring.

When I spotted the airfield I noticed immediately that there were only eight aeroplanes lined up. I circled so that the major and Ted could confirm what I had seen and then I headed back to our airfield.

“Well it looks like they have moved a squadron. This could well be a quiet sector for a while.”

The five of us who were the senior officers were all seated in the Colonel’s office. “And I agree with Bill we saw fewer men in their secondary trenches. The front line was just as full of men as before but not the support trenches.”

“Well then I will write a report for Headquarters but in light of this I think that when Lieutenant Hewitt returns the rest of you can take your leave. That way we will all be back here by the middle of January.”

“And you sir?”

“I think I had plenty of leave when my son was ill.”