1916 Angels over the Somme (British Ace Book 3) (3 page)

“Well I was flown in this morning by your new pilot, Gordy, and I have to tell you that he did not impress me. Lieutenant Carstairs has many faults. You will have your work cut out with that one.”

“Well at least he is a body.  The major and I have just one other pilot in our flights. We knew it was bad news when they recalled you.”

Ted who was, without doubt, the most pessimistic man I had ever known was also one of the kindest men and he asked, “How is the wound by the way?”

My hand went to the shoulder. “It is fine but I reckon it will ache in the damp and the doctor said I am now destined for arthritis and rheumatism.”

We walked in silence. Gordy said, “They are old men’s complaints.  Personally I shall be quite happy to get those two.” He looked meaningfully at our small stand of graves which were clustered at the far end of the field.  “Because that means I will have survived the war.”

I changed into overalls and I spent the afternoon with Lumpy.  The ground crews had had a couple of weeks to replace all the damaged parts of our damaged bus and cannibalise some of the parts from crashed aeroplanes.  The result was that she was as good as new.  We had the advantage that the engine was now well run and Lumpy and I knew all her idiosyncrasies. We took her up for half an hour.  She didn’t need it but I did.  I had barely managed to land the aeroplane after I had been wounded and I knew that it was like riding a horse after a fall. You had to get back in the saddle as soon as possible. When the propeller stopped turning I breathed a sigh of relief.

Lumpy waited for me next to the wing. “Well done sir.  That couldn’t have been easy.”

“It wasn’t.”

He pointed to the medals.  “They look good sir.”

“I am sorry that you didn’t get one.  You deserved it for saving my life.”

“I was mentioned in despatches and that will help me get promotion.”

When I had been in the cavalry I had served with many soldiers like Lumpy.  They were what made the British Army what it was, the best in the world. He was one of the reasons that I knew we would not lose this war.  It might take time but we British, and especially the likes of Lumpy, were stubborn and dogged fighters.  We just didn’t give in.  That evening I went into the mess feeling more optimistic than I had for some time.

That evening I made sure I was dressed for dinner. Sometimes we were a little casual but I had made myself smart for Beatrice for the past week or so and it had become a habit. It made me walk a little taller.

I noticed, as I sat next to my two best friends that Charlie was sitting with the other flight lieutenants.  They were all talking in an animated fashion except Second Lieutenant Jamie Carstairs who did not look happy.  Randolph had told me that the young man had not taken criticism well.  He made excuses for all the things he had done wrong. I had warned Gordy.  That was the worst kind of attitude.  My view was that if you did something wrong you owned up to it, changed and then moved on.

I soon forgot him when the Colonel stood and spoke. “Gentlemen you may smoke.” He turned to the sergeant, “Keep the doors closed eh Flight?  We have things to talk about.”

There was a buzz of anticipation in the mess.  I knew that I had been privy to more information than many.  It would be interesting to see their reactions.

“Gentlemen, tomorrow morning is a momentous day for the British Army. We will be beginning our first major offensive since Ypres and Loos. Tomorrow eleven divisions of British Infantry and five divisions of French will advance towards the Albert-Bapaume roads.  Our job from dawn until the battle is over is to maintain air superiority. We must deny the Germans the skies over the Somme.” He smiled and pointed his cigar at me.  “As Captain Harsker said, we must be the angels protecting the infantry. I like that metaphor. You need to see yourselves as the men who protect our brothers in arms on the ground. We will fly two patrols a day.  Major Leach will lead his and Lieutenant Thomas’ flights in the morning and Captain Harsker will take the other two flights out in the afternoon. In the second week, if the battle is not won we will reverse the timings. I know we are short of pilots and aeroplanes but I have been assured by General Henderson himself that we will be given everything that we need to wrest control of the skies from the Hun. We are expecting more pilots and aeroplanes when they become available.”

There was much cheering and banging of glasses. Major Leach stood and his Scots’ voice boomed out, “Shut up you noisy buggers!”

Silence fell in the smoky mess. “Now a word of warning; Intelligence has told us that the Germans have reorganized their squadrons into Jastas, or hunting packs. We know that they like to stay on their side of the lines but they will attack in numbers. They will have plenty of fuel and support.  That will make life difficult for us. Our skills as pilots will make life impossible for them.”

This time Major Leach gave up as the buzz of conversation drowned out anything else he might have said.

Gordy lit a cigarette, “Well, Bill, it looks like you are stuck with me.”

“I am not worried about that. I know you and Ted better than almost any pilot in the squadron. I am happy to be given the afternoon flights, it means the Germans will have the sun in their eyes.”

Ted groaned, “And that means we will have it in our eyes in the morning.  Great!”

“We will need to watch the front line; from what the colonel told me they are trying to draw us over their lines.”

Gordy nodded, “That’s how they got my new lieutenant.  It was his second flight over their lines and he followed one of them.” He shook his head.  “He never stood a chance. He forgot my orders not to go chasing them.”

“Remember we will be outnumbered.  We might have to use the circle.”

“With just five aeroplanes?  Will it work?”

“We will have to wait and see.” I suddenly noticed the new officer out of the corner of my eye.  He was sitting alone. “He is the joker in the pack.  You will need to keep your eye on him.”

“As he is the only one left in my flight that shouldn’t be a problem.” Poor Gordy did not seem to have much luck with his new pilots.  He had lost three whilst I still had both Carrick and Holt.  They were almost the most experienced pilots in the squadron now and yet a few weeks ago they had been nervous young men just out of flying school.  You grew up quickly at the front; or you died.

As I left the mess I wasn’t too sure about Gordy’s assessment of Carstairs but I had other things on my mind.  I had letters to write and the first one would be to Beatrice.  Our walks in Hyde Parks and hurried conversations in the ward were not enough.  I needed to tell her how I felt.  We lived a precarious existence.  I did not want to die before telling her how I felt.  When I had written Beatrice’s letter I would write home.

I was woken by the shelling at the start of the offensive.  I heard later that it could be heard in Hampstead Heath.  All I knew was that it woke me. I sat up with a start. The constant cracking told me it was not a summer storm. I stood and looked at my table; I saw that I had just written the one letter to Beatrice.  I had fallen asleep after signing it. I felt guilty.  I would write home when I returned from this afternoon’s mission. I addressed the envelope and took it to Randolph’s office.  As Adjutant he got to censor all of the letters we sent. He was a gentleman and a fine chap but I was not sure I would want him reading my innermost thoughts.  I had, however, no choice in the matter.

He was at his desk when I entered. “A letter home.”

He took it and was about to put it with a pile of others when he saw the address and felt the weight. “A girl you met in Blighty?” I nodded.  “His face softened.  He was a married man as was the colonel.  “I will be discreet, Bill.  You can trust me.”

“I know Randolph it’s just… you know?”

He smiled, “I know.  I had the same thing with Gordy when he met his young lady.”

I felt better after that.  I was not the only love struck young pilot.  I knew, however, that all such thoughts had to be expunged from my mind or else I would be jeopardising not only my own life but also the lives of my pilots!

We watched Major Leach and the other flights as they took off. The five aeroplanes seemed a pitifully small number to me. Ominously, we heard the constant crump of artillery shells as the German lines were pounded. We would have a better idea of the success of the attack when we flew over in the afternoon.

I spent the morning with the pilots and gunners I would be leading. Carstairs apart, the pilots had all flown with me before and knew my ways.  I was aware, however that we had two new gunners.  They deserved to have the same information as their pilots. “Today we begin the first of many such patrols over the battlefield. We will fly in two columns.  Lieutenant Hewitt will lead his flight and I will lead the other.” I pointedly looked at Carstairs.  “You, Lieutenant, will play follow my leader with Lieutenant Hewitt.  Where ever he goes you follow.  You do not deviate one inch from that position.”

“What if I am attacked?”

Gordy snorted, “You have a gunner, Sonny Jim and a gun fore and aft. You stick to my tail! If I look around and find you are not there then you will be in for it my lad!”

The new officer looked a little petulant as he said, “What happens if you are shot down?”

Gordy coloured bright red, “Then you had better pray that I am dead or else I will come and kick your backside all the way from here to Blighty! You keep me safe!”

The others chuckled but I knew that it was a fair question. “In that event you follow Lieutenant Holt and my flight.” I could see the new gunners looking at each other nervously. “If things get a little hot there we have a defensive formation we use.  It all depends on us flying in a circle so ‘
follow my leade
r’ is a good practice. Make sure you have plenty of ammunition and that you have checked your guns before you fly. It is a little hard at five thousand feet with a bunch of Huns attacking you. One last thing, avoid following them over their lines. All we need to do is to keep them from our side of the front. Any questions?”

They all shook their heads. I pointed to Lumpy and Sergeant Laithwaite. “These two sergeants are the most experienced in the squadron; you new lads have a chat to them.” I was pleased when the two new gunners almost ran to speak to the old hands.

I began to fill my pipe as the others wandered off.  Gordy joined me. “I see what you mean about Carstairs.  I hope he doesn’t turn out to be another Garrington-Jones.”

“We will have to make sure he doesn’t then.  Perhaps a taste of combat will change him a little.”

“Perhaps.”

We stood by our Gunbuses waiting for the return of the rest of the squadron.  The big guns had stopped and we could just hear the ripple of distant machine gun fire. It was many miles away and seemed, remote somehow. I knew that it would become much closer and soon. The sight of five aeroplanes heading for the field was a welcome one. They had all survived but we saw much damage on many of the aeroplanes. The Gunbus had an enormous wingspan and was a big target for the German gunners.

When they had all landed we went over to speak with Major Leach and Ted. “It is a little hot over there, Bill.  The advance looks to be going well.  They have taken the first set of German trenches.” The Major shook his head, “The trouble is that brings us closer to the Hun.  In the last half hour this morning they sent more flights against us. Luckily we were on our way back and they were reluctant to follow us.” He gave me a meaningful look.  “They will be ready this afternoon so take care.”

“Yes, sir.” I turned to Gordy. “Fly just above me, say two hundred feet and astern of Johnny.”

“You have something in mind?”

“They had a few books in the hospital and one of them was about Trafalgar and how Nelson would sail across the line of the enemy.  It meant the first ship took the most damage but then the whole of the fleet could bring their guns to bear.  If I get the chance we shall do that. I will try to turn and take us across their front.  They have a fixed machine gun. It would mean we could use both sets of our guns.”

“I am not sure what you mean exactly but I can follow.” He jerked his thumb at Carstairs.  “I just hope he can.”

We took off and headed east. The flashes in the sky ahead told us that the battle was still raging.  I was pleased that the troops on the ground had made progress; perhaps the generals had got it right for once. I took us quite high to avoid any ground fire although I hoped that they would be too busy with our infantry to worry about us.

I heard Hutton’s voice in my ears.  It was not his usual one.  It sounded sad and distant.  “Sir, just look down there.”

I glanced over the sides.  We were just passing our trenches. I could see pairs of stretcher bearers north and south with wounded men.  Worse than that was the sight of so many men lying huddled together; they were dead or dying.  They were not near our trenches but a hundred and fifty paces from the German lines.  There were bodies draped over barbed wire and huddles of bodies in craters.  They might have made great gains but the cost had been horrendously high.

I heard Hutton again, this time talking to himself.  “Poor buggers.”

“Keep your eyes peeled, Lumpy.  We’ll be over their lines soon enough.”

Even from this height we could see the flash of machine guns.  A brown smudge of men was marching resolutely forward.  It brought back memories of the Marne and Le Cateau.  It took real courage to do what they were doing. I knew that their sergeants would keep their lines straight and exhort them to keep moving.  Although it was the right command it must have been all too tempting to turn and run back to safety.