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

“Any leave at home is a good leave.  And you?  I thought I might have seen you on the train down.”

He looked sheepish. “Ah, well I came down a couple of days ago like. Stayed in the smoke.”

“You paid for a hotel in London? Have you come into money or something?”

“Well no, not exactly and I stayed with a friend.”

This was becoming more intriguing by the minute. “A friend?”

He took my arm and led me away from the others waiting for our train.  “Listen you nosey bugger, it was a woman, right. I stayed with a woman.”

“I didn’t know you knew any women.”

He burst out laughing, “Of course I know women.”

“No, what I mean is, women friends with houses.”

“Ah. Well she is a friend of my sister, Margaret.  Her husband bought it in the first battle of Ypres and she is a widow.  She was staying with our kid to help her get over her loss and I met her and…well she is a nice lady.”

I smiled. “You don’t have to convince me Gordy.  If you like her then she must be nice.”

He grinned and we returned to our seats. “Aye she is. Mary is her name. Her husband was an officer and he had a little bit of money.  She has a little house in Tottenham.  Not big but neat and tidy. She is going to have to get a job now to make ends meet.”

“You sound as though you are sweet on her.”

He looked shocked.  “You don’t stay in a widow woman’s house if you are not serious.”

“Are you going to marry her then?” It seemed a little hasty to me but I could not say that to my friend who was obviously smitten.

“Not while there is a war on.  I mean I could go as quickly as her husband and it wouldn’t do to make her a widow twice over.  We have an understanding and I’ll be sending her a little of my pay.  Just until she gets on her feet you understand.  Nothing improper.”

I smiled.  We were all that way.  The upper classes might have their mistresses and affairs but our class knew how to behave.  At least that is what my dad would have said.

Our train was announced and we joined the scrum to get seats.  Our officer’s uniforms and second class travel warrants helped to secure us two seats by the window. As the train pulled out I ventured, “You have fallen remarkably quickly Gordy.” I held up my hand as I saw his reaction.  “I am just saying.”

He smiled, as he lit another cigarette.  “I know but as soon as I met her I knew. She is lovely and she is such a kind person.  When I found that she was a widow and
lonely I took her dancing down the Empire in Piccadilly. I did it to be polite at first but we chatted like we had known each other forever.  I took her out every night for a week and we had walks in the park during the day. So you see we packed a lot into a week. There is a war on and I didn’t know when I would get to see her again.”

I knew what he meant.  The normal routine
of courtship involved walks once a week then walks holding hands; meeting the family then, possibly, an evening assignation.  Gordy and his Mary had packed almost two months courting into a week.  I understood now.  And I understood his reticence about commitment. My two elder brothers had died in the same battle as Mary’s husband.  They had left fiancées behind. At the same time I was aware that I wanted children too.  They were a legacy you left behind when you had gone. For the rest of the journey I speculated about my future.  When would I meet a woman; let alone a woman I wanted to marry?

When we got off the train we asked directions for the airfield and found that it was
only four miles away.  It was gone six o’clock but the nights were becoming longer and we decided to walk. We set off at a good pace and hoped to cover the distance in less than an hour. As luck would have it we only had a mile to walk.  A lorry came behind us and honked his horn.  We turned and saw Quartermaster Doyle and one of his flight sergeants.  He grinned.  “Hop aboard, sirs. We might get you back in time for a bit of supper!”

We jammed ourselves in the back of the lorry and peered through the little curtain.

“Well Quartermaster.  Why are we back in Blighty?”

He laughed, “I might have known they wouldn’t tell you.
Typical. Refitting, sirs.  We have new F.E. 2 aeroplanes, sir.  They look the same but they have a Rolls Royce Eagle engine.  They are a nice little motor according to Senior Sergeant Lowery.”

I was relieved and disappointed at the same time.  I had thought we might have been given a new
type of aircraft.  Still a better engine might improve our chances of survival but that still left the blind spot behind the engine.

“Any other changes?”

He tapped his nose but his face had lost its humour, “You’ll have to wait and see won’t you, sir? Anyway here we are.”

The aerodrome was a field. There were tents as accommodation and I saw five huge marquees that were obviously the mess tents and the headquarters.  This would only be temporary. As we pulled through the barrier I could see the sea some five miles away.
That explained the position of the airfield.  We could be at the battlefields in just over an hour.

We
jumped from the lorry.  Quartermaster Doyle waved his hand towards a group of twelve tents isolated from the rest. “Those are the officers’ quarters.  There are a few empty ones.  Just grab one.” He swept his arm around to a large marquee. “And that is the officer’s mess.  I’d dump your bags and see if there is still food on the go.”

We looked in four tents before we found two empty ones.  As neither of us had eaten since the morning we were ready for food, of any description. When we entered the mess tent there was a roar from the six officers there.  To our amazement Ted was seated with them, resplendent in the uniform of a Second Lieutenant. He grinned as we walked up to him.  “I only did it so as I w
ouldn’t have to salute you two!

We both
slapped him heartily on the back. The three of us were back together.  It had felt odd to be separated at meal time and to have him ‘sirring’ us the whole time.

He nodded to the cooks who were clearing away, “Grab some food and I’ll fill you in.”

The cooks moaned in a good natured way and then filled our plates up with bully beef stew.  We grabbed some bread and a mug of tea. It was plain fare but it would fill us.  Of that I had no doubt.

While we ate Ted talked.  The younger officers, having finished, all left.  “Yeah the Colonel asked me to try out as a pilot. I passed and he made me an officer straight away. 
He told me he needed pilots like us who had experience and were reliable.” He looked around to see that we were not being observed or overheard, “The bad news is that we have a new senior officer.” We both paused, mid mouthful, “Major Brack has been given his own squadron. He took a couple of the pilots with him.” He must have seen the look of surprise on our faces as he added hurriedly, “Your flights have been left un-touched.  Now the new Major is a Major St.John Hamilton-Grant.” He made a face.  “You will not like him. He is a toff but not like Major Burscough.  His Lordship didn’t talk down to you; this one speaks to you as though he has stepped into something unpleasant.”

“Where has he come from?”

“According to the griff he was in command of a training squadron in England.”

“He has no combat experience then?”

Ted stubbed his cigarette out and shook his head, “Not as far as we can find out.  He likes to do things by the book.  He thinks we should set an example for the sergeants.  We have to wear a tie at all times.”

I looked at Gordy who shook his head, “But this is stupid.  When we are flying we are all wrapped up anyway.”

“That’s another thing he has changed, he wants regulation greatcoats to be worn when flying.”

“But they are bloody useless in the wet.”

“Ah he reckons we shouldn’t have to fly when it is wet so there won’t be a problem.” He stood and stretched, “And lastly our new major doesn’t like the idea of flight sergeants being promoted.  He thinks every pilot should go through a flying school. I am glad you two are back because it means all the shitty jobs will now be shared out.” He grinned.  “It won’t just be Joe Muggins here!”

“What does the colonel think about all this?”

“That’s the problem, Gordy, the colonel’s son was wounded and gassed at Ypres. The Colonel spends more time away from the squadron than with it. His son is critically ill and the Colonel is by his bedside.  You can’t really blame him.  If it was my son I would want to do the same.”

“Blimey, a hell of a lot can happen in three weeks!”

“Tell me about it. Come on I’ll help you get sorted.  Reveille is at five thirty.”

“Five thirty!”

“I told you, regulations and by the book.”

Much later that night
, as I lay down to sleep I reflected that it couldn’t make all that much of a difference.  Regulations were regulations and once we were in the air then it would be the same as it always was. This wasn’t like the cavalry with its spit and polish and horse furniture to be burnished.  We just flew our aeroplanes. It would soon go back to the way it was. I was wrong.

We were told to be on parade and we waited in line. I was surprised when I saw him. The new major was a precise little man.  He had a precisely trimmed moustache and his hair always looked as though it had just been trimmed.  He had razor sharp creases in his uniform and starched shirts. As soon as he walked along the parade I felt dirty and I had my cleanest and best uniform on! He did not find anything to criticise us for but I knew that Ted was correct. The looks he gave to the three of us were looks of contempt.

He addressed us all in his shrill, piping voice. “The colonel is still indisposed and I will remain in charge for the foreseeable future.  We are still awaiting three new pilots and so the order of business until they arrive is for you all to familiarise yourselves with the new aircraft. 
The new FE 2 has a more powerful Rolls Royce Eagle engine. Those pilots who have flown the earlier version will find a difference. Until we are issued with a more up to date fighter we will have to get by with these out dated Gunbuses. You will all spend at least two hours a day flying.  I expect a written report each day on the route you took and any problems you encountered with the aircraft.  We need to be as efficient as we can be before we return to France. That is all gentlemen.  You are dismissed.”

We saluted and turned to go, “Er Lieutenant Hewitt and
Lieutenant Harsker stay behind for a moment would you?” We turned.  “Do sit down.” As we sat down I realised the reason was because otherwise we would have towered over him. He closed his eyes and put his finger tips together.  I suddenly worried that he was a Holy Joe and he was going to pray.  However he opened his eyes and then stood.

“Gentlemen
, I am a plain speaking man and I will come directly to the point.  I do not like self taught pilots promoted from the ranks. It is unnatural and sloppy. I prefer those officers who have been trained to fly and fight properly.” We remained silent.  There appeared little point, at least to me, in saying anything until he had finished.

“In addition I think that the idea of three aircraft flying as a unit is counterproductive and a waste of resources.  When we are fully equipped we will have twelve aircraft.  I intend to use them to cover as wide an area as possible.”

Gordy could not keep his mouth shut.  “But, sir, the Colonel likes the idea of flights of three aircraft.”

He smiled a mirthless smile. “The colonel is not here and so I will run the squadron as I see fit until he does return.” He then glared at both of us, almost daring us to question him again.  Then he smiled, “Ah, I see now; you two were paid extra as leaders. Yes
, of course, being sergeants and from that class money is more important than rank.” He shrugged, “I have no objection to you being paid more. The colonel, for whatever reason, saw fit to promote you to First Lieutenant. Officers of your class obviously need the higher pay more than the other officers.”

I felt Gordy begin to rise and I clamped my hand around his wrist. I smiled, “Sir, may I ask a question?”

“Of course, it is Lieutenant Harsker I believe.”

“Yes sir.”

“You are the lucky pilot who has four enemy kills to his name.”

I chose to ignore the fact that he had the numbers wrong
and the fact that he said ‘lucky’; it did not matter to me. “Well that is the point I was going to make sir.  How many of the squadron have combat experience?  I understand that Major Brack took many of the experienced pilots with him. So apart from us two and Lieutenant Thomas, how many of the squadron have experience combat against the Germans?”

He coloured and I wondered if I had gone too far
even though I had kept my voice as reasonable as I could. “There are four of you for I believe that Lieutenant Campbell has also flown in combat. What is your point?”

“The reason the colonel introduced his system was to protect new pilots by placing them under the wing, so to speak of a more experienced pilot.  We cut down the losses as a result.”

“Do not worry about that Lieutenant.  The new pilots are much better trained.” He smiled, “After all I trained them.  In addition I will be drawing up standing orders which will make the possibility of losses almost impossible.”