Wings of the Morning Page 10

  ‘Yes, if he transmits, I’m sure I can. Was it something important?’

  ‘Maybe. We can only wait until he sends again, and then, hopefully, we can find out who it is.’

  Annie knew she wouldn’t be told anything else. It was frustrating not to know what the messages said when they picked them up, but everything was in code, and that was the job. ‘That sounds exciting.’

  ‘You like a bit of excitement, do you?’ Sam asked.

  ‘I’ve never thought about it, but I suppose I must.’ She was beginning to uncover emotions in herself she hadn’t known were there.

  ‘Hmm.’ Sam stood up. ‘Well, you’ve earned a break, so do you think a meal in the mess with me would be exciting enough for the moment?’

  She placed a hand over her heart. ‘I don’t know if I could stand that much excitement.’

  ‘Come on then,’ he chuckled, ‘I’ll catch you if you faint.’

  ‘Er …?’ She looked around for Group Captain Jones. ‘I’m not sure if I can leave my post.’

  ‘Yes, you can.’ He signalled to the group captain. ‘We’re going to get something to eat.’

  He simply nodded his agreement and went back to what he was doing.

  Annie walked beside Sam, puzzled. ‘You act as if you outrank the other officers.’

  ‘Well, I don’t. I have a special expertise, and can help them out quite often.’

  ‘Can I ask what it is?’

  He bent his head and whispered in her ear. ‘I’m a spy.’

  ‘Ours or theirs?’ she asked drily, not believing a word he said. He was more relaxed with her now, and she felt able to joke with him.

  ‘Ours, of course.’ He looked offended, but the twitch at the corners of his mouth showed he was teasing her.

  Annie searched in vain for the rest of the day but the mystery sender never came through. ‘I’m sorry, Sam, I don’t think he is going to transmit.’

  ‘Never mind, you’ve done well. Now all we can do is leave it and hope he tries again.’

  ‘Who do you think it was?’

  He gave an expressive shrug. ‘We’re not sure, but we’ve managed to decipher a part of the message and whoever he is we need to catch him.’

  She knew she couldn’t ask any more questions, so she nodded and returned to her work.

  It was the early hours of the 18th of August when Annie was summoned to the ops room. Sam was waiting for her, a huge smile on his face.

  ‘We’ve got lucky. A concerned neighbour reported some strange sounds coming from next door, and it turned out to be our mystery sender. He was working for the Germans.’

  ‘Oh, that’s wonderful.’ She was elated.

  ‘It’s even better than that. He was careless and so confident he hadn’t even made an attempt to hide anything.’

  Annie looked at him and laughed. ‘Now I know what you do.’

  ‘And what’s that?’ he asked.

  ‘You’re a spy catcher.’

  ‘Ah, my cover has been blown,’ he said in mock despair. ‘Now I shall have to retire and go back to tending my chickens.’

  She didn’t believe him but joined in the fun anyway. ‘And where are your chickens?’

  ‘I expect the Germans have eaten them by now.’

  Her mouth dropped open as realization dawned. Why hadn’t she guessed?

  ‘That’s right, Ann Webster, I’m French.’

  ‘But you haven’t a trace of an accent,’ she gasped, ‘and you don’t wear that on your uniform.’

  ‘It’s on my dress uniform only and I seldom wear that. And I speak English well because I was educated in this country,’ he told her in French.

  He asked her many questions about her life, making her answer him in French. He kept her there for about half an hour; she didn’t mind though, he was an intriguing man to talk to. He probed deeply into her family life, but did it in such a way that she found herself answering his questions without hesitation. When she’d joined up they had been interested in her languages, but she hadn’t used them at all, and that was rather disappointing. She’d had visions of being asked to translate captured German documents. She smiled inwardly at her fanciful notions.

  Eventually Sam sat back and reverted to English. ‘You have a slight accent but it’s hardly noticeable. Where did you learn to speak so fluently?’

  ‘I studied it hard at school, because I loved the language, and then when I went to work on a women’s magazine I made friends with Chantal who came from Paris. She was the chief editor and more than ten years older than me, but we became firm friends. We used to speak French all the time we were together, and I often went home with her for my holidays.’

  ‘What about the German?’

  ‘That was only at school. I was lucky enough to have a teacher who took an interest in me. He said I had a natural ability with languages, and to be honest I found it quite easy and great fun.’

  Sam rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘What kind of training did you have when you joined up?’

  ‘The usual basic training of square-bashing and PT. Why?’ More questions. It was almost as if he was gradually building up a picture of her.

  ‘I have an insatiable curiosity. Go and get some breakfast now, you’re not on duty until eleven. And thank you for helping us to catch a spy.’

  ‘I wish I could have got more of the message.’

  He picked up a pile of papers and began to look through them. She had clearly been dismissed.

  After she had eaten she went for a walk in the grounds. It was a beautiful day and she lifted her face to the sun, feeling its rays warm and relax her. This was just the kind of weather the Germans liked to launch an attack in; she prayed that they would stay away for a while, allowing pilots and ground crew a rest. She strode out, giving her legs a chance to stretch and move, knowing that she would be sitting at her desk for most of the day. She was enjoying this beautiful weather, but the pilots must view it with misgiving …

  ‘Annie!’ Jean came running towards her, puffing badly. ‘I’ve been searching for you everywhere.’

  ‘Why? What’s the matter?’ Annie asked.

  ‘Don’t know, but something’s happening, and you’re to report for duty immediately.’

  Annie didn’t even say goodbye as she started running.

  9

  18 August 1940

  The Kenley airfield had taken the most terrible pounding. Reid propped himself up with two hands on the tail of his Spitfire and gazed at the devastation around him. He bowed his head, took a deep breath and wondered how many of them were going to survive this day. It would surely go down as the day the Luftwaffe tried to crush their air defences once and for all.

  ‘Don’t worry, sir, we’ll get her operational again.’

  He dragged his eyes open and saw his ground crew were as battered as his Spitfire. Ted had a filthy bandage around his head and John could hardly walk but they were working like men possessed.

  Standing up straight, he ran a shaking hand through his tangled hair. Thank God the sun was going down. If he went up one more time he would be asleep at the controls.

  ‘The mess has been flattened,’ Ted told him in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, ‘but there’s a mobile canteen over by the ops room. Why don’t you go and get yourself a mug of hot, sweet tea, sir. We’ll have her ready to go again in no time at all.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Reid picked his way through the rubble and looked at the row of bodies covered with blankets. Some were obviously female and he hoped that Paul’s girl was safe somewhere. And the thing that was worrying him the most was, had his brother survived this horrendous day?

  ‘Reid.’

  He looked up and saw the station commander with two young boys, no more than nineteen or twenty, he assessed.

  ‘Two new pilots for you, Barrett and Johnson, and we’ve put you all in the house just outside the gates. The accommodation took a direct hit, I’m afraid, but the people in the village are offering beds until we can sort somet
hing out.’ He gave his squadron leader a sympathetic look. ‘Debriefing won’t take long, then go and get some rest.’

  ‘You’ve had a bloody awful time down here,’ Reid remarked wearily.

  ‘Yes, but we managed to get the airfield operational again in time for you to be able to get down,’ he stated proudly.

  ‘Do you know what state Biggin Hill is in?’

  ‘They’ve taken a pasting as well, but I don’t have the details yet.’ The officer smiled grimly. ‘The Germans were attacked so fiercely by you lads that they eventually split up and ran for home.’

  Reid nodded towards the destroyed hangar. ‘Have we got any planes left?’

  ‘Replacements are already on their way.’

  ‘What about pilots?’ he asked quietly, knowing that the loss of experienced men was high.

  ‘We’ve pinched some from the Fleet Air Arm, and a few Canadians arrived yesterday.’ He sighed and walked away.

  There was a wealth of meaning in that heartfelt sigh. Reid knew he was saying that things were bad. And there wasn’t a pilot who didn’t know that to be true.

  Reid made the recruits wait for him while he went to report in, then took them to the house just outside the gates that was serving as makeshift accommodation. He chatted away to them on the walk over, trying to put them at their ease, but they were clearly nervous.

  When they walked in they were greeted with the cry, ‘They’ve blown the bloody roof off the pub, the bastards!’

  Reid grinned at the outraged expression on Timber Woods’s face. ‘Has the cellar survived intact?’

  ‘It has.’ The landlord of the Crown staggered in carrying a tray loaded with pints of beer. ‘Here you are, lads, have these on the house – what’s left of it.’

  Hands shot out and whipped glasses from the tray. Reid did the same and downed the liquid almost without it touching the sides of his mouth. The two new boys watched wide-eyed as the glasses were emptied in one swallow and placed back on the tray.

  Timber slapped the landlord on the back. ‘By God, we needed that, Harry.’

  ‘Thought you might. Er …’ He looked anxiously around the room. ‘Where’s Lofty?’

  ‘Bought it,’ was the only comment from one of the pilots.

  ‘I’m sorry about that.’ His sigh was one of deep regret. ‘The wife will be upset, she liked that boy.’

  Just then the door opened and a dishevelled pilot came in, reeking of fuel and smoke.

  Reid peered at him, trying to see through the thick layer of oil and soot. ‘Bouncer?’

  ‘That’s right.’ He pounced on the last remaining pint, and all that could be seen was his bobbing Adam’s apple as the glass emptied.

  ‘Hey!’ Timber shouted, thumping the sleeve of Bouncer’s flying jacket, ‘you’re still smouldering, you silly sod.’

  ‘I know,’ Reid said in a resigned voice, ‘you thought you’d save the plane instead of bailing out.’

  White teeth shone through the grime. ‘That was the idea but she went up as soon as I landed.’

  ‘What did you do, then?’ asked one of the new boys, staring in disbelief at the apparition in front of him.

  ‘Ran, old boy, what else would one do?’ Bouncer asked innocently, not appearing at all perturbed by his narrow escape.

  ‘You’re a maniac, do you know that?’ Reid told him.

  Bouncer shrugged. ‘It helps.’ Then he looked around the room, counting under his breath. ‘Have any of the others returned?’

  ‘Not unless they’ve landed at other airfields or bailed out,’ Reid told him, knowing there wasn’t much chance for the other three. He’d seen two go down himself and there hadn’t been a sign of parachutes.

  There was a brief moment of silence, as they each remembered their friends who were no longer with them. It was something the survivors faced every day but they kept their emotions to themselves, knowing they would be up there again the next day, and it might well be them missing or killed. But of course it wouldn’t happen to them.

  Bouncer turned his attention to the new boys who were clutching their untouched glasses of beer. ‘Are you going to drink those or make love to them?’ he wanted to know.

  One of them held his out with a slight tremor of the hand.

  ‘Thanks.’ It disappeared in a few seconds, and Bouncer looked pointedly at the other glass. This was also thrust at him and suffered the same fate.

  ‘Ah, that’s better, I feel almost human now.’

  Timber snorted. ‘You could have fooled me. You look as if you’ve just risen from the fiery depths of the earth.’

  The white teeth flashed again. ‘Just as hot up there today, old boy.’

  ‘Are you injured under all that mess?’ Reid asked.

  ‘Nah.’ Bouncer examined his ruined jacket. ‘Just scorched around the edges, that’s all. Now,’ he turned to the two boys, ‘are you our replacements?’

  They nodded, clearly speechless by now, and someone in the background muttered, ‘Christ!’

  ‘Well, welcome to Kenley, though you’re not seeing it at its best,’ Bouncer joked.

  Reid introduced the boys as Barrett and Johnson to the rest of the exhausted pilots, then asked, ‘How many hours have you flown in Spits?’

  ‘Ten, sir,’ Johnson said.

  ‘Ei … ght, sir,’ Barrett informed him.

  There was another muttered expletive in the background.

  Reid tried not to let his dismay show. ‘When we’ve had something to eat, and Bouncer has cleaned himself up, you are going to be given some lessons on how to fight, then if Jerry will give us an hour’s peace at dawn we’re going to take you up and put you through your paces.’

  ‘Thank you, sir,’ they said, a spark of enthusiasm in their eyes at last.

  At that moment the cooks arrived and everything stopped while they demolished the food.

  Reid stood up when they’d finished and headed for the door. ‘I’m just going to see if I can contact my brother. I won’t be long.’

  ‘That might be difficult,’ Timber told him. ‘The last I heard all the land lines were down.’

  ‘I know. I tried as soon as I landed, but I’ll have another go.’

  Then the door opened and Paul limped in, leaning heavily on a stick. ‘Ah,’ Reid smiled in relief, ‘I was just going to have a go at phoning you again.’

  ‘Hi, Paul,’ Bouncer called. ‘I’m afraid we’ve drunk all the beer.’

  ‘I’ll bet you have,’ he laughed. ‘What happened to you?’

  ‘Well, there was this bloody-minded German, and he insisted on shooting at me.’ Bouncer looked scandalized.

  Paul tutted. ‘Do you know they did the same to me? One bullet went straight through my leg. Can’t think what we’ve done to upset them,’ he added drily.

  ‘We keep hurtling towards them with guns firing and spoiling their fun,’ Timber chortled.

  ‘Come into the other room, Paul,’ Reid said, ‘and we can talk in peace there.’

  Both men slumped into armchairs and Reid asked, ‘How badly are you hurt?’

  ‘Oh, it’s only a scratch and I’ll be flying again in a couple of days.’ Paul held the leg out in front of him and flexed it. ‘See, no problem.’

  Reid looked at his brother’s tired face and was pleased that he would have a short break. ‘Are you going to see your girl now you’ve got time off?’

  ‘No, she can’t get any leave at the moment.’ He leant forward and smiled. ‘Guess what? I was so badly shot up that I had to land at Tangmere and Annie’s brother Charlie is there. He’s a mechanic, and a good one, I was told. Will and Charlie always were a whizz with engines.’

  Reid stifled a yawn, not really interested in this family his brother seemed to think the world of. ‘How did you get back here?’

  ‘After the medic had bandaged me up, I hitched a lift.’ He grinned. ‘A female ferry pilot was delivering a trainer, so she dropped me off here.’

  ‘Did you enjoy the ride?’ he grinne
d.

  ‘Not much, but she was quite competent. I offered to sit on her lap and fly the thing myself,’ he joked, ‘but she wouldn’t hear of it.’

  ‘I don’t blame her,’ Reid remarked wryly. ‘So, will you go home for a couple of days?’

  ‘No, I’m going to stay on the base. I want to get back in the air as soon as possible.’ Paul gazed thoughtfully into space, then back at his brother. ‘This has been the hardest day, hasn’t it?’

  ‘Yes.’ Reid didn’t add anything else, they were only too aware of the gravity of the situation, but he knew every pilot was determined to keep fighting. The thought of losing this battle was not something they were prepared to consider.

  ‘Reid, can I ask a favour? If anything happens to me, will you look after Annie for me?’

  ‘What makes you think I’m going to survive and you’re not?’ Reid asked, studying his brother intently, rather alarmed at the strange request.

  He shrugged. ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen, or if either of us will come out of this alive …’

  ‘Good God!’ Reid exclaimed, in horror. ‘Don’t even give that a thought. If that happens the parents will never forgive us.’

  They both laughed, then Paul became serious again. ‘I mean it about Annie.’

  ‘Surely she’s old enough to look after herself?’ Reid didn’t like the way this conversation was going. If his brother began to believe he wasn’t going to make it, then he could start getting careless. He mustn’t do that!

  ‘I know what you’re thinking, big brother, and you’re wrong. Today has made me take stock of my life and I’ll be happier if I know Annie is going to be all right should the worst happen.’

  ‘What makes you think she needs a protector?’ Reid asked, not willing to commit himself to such a promise. ‘She’s got a large family, you told me, and I’m sure she wouldn’t want a stranger interfering in her life,’ he pointed out.

  Paul sighed. ‘You don’t understand. She’s special, and if I’m not here to watch over her then I want you to do it. Is that too much to ask, Reid?’

  There was such an intense look of concern on Paul’s face that he knew he couldn’t refuse. At least he could put his brother’s mind at rest. He would never have to carry out this task, anyway, so there wasn’t any harm in agreeing. ‘No, it isn’t too much to ask. If that’s what you want, I’ll see that Annie is all right.’