The Forgotten Army

Available now:

Apollo 23 by Justin Richards

Night of the Humans by David Llewellyn The Forgotten Army by Brian Minchin

Coming soon:

The Glamour Chase by Gary Russell

Nuclear Time by Oli Smith

The King's Dragon by Una McCormack

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Published in 2010 by BBC Books, an imprint o f Ebury P ublishing.

A Rando m House Gro up Co mpany

Copyright © Brian M inchin 2010

David Llewellyn has asserted his right to be identified as the author o f this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Doctor Who is a BBC Wales production for BBC One Executive producers: Steven Moffat, P iers Wenger and Beth W illis BBC, DOCTOR WHO and
TARDIS
(word marks, lo gos and devices) are trademarks o f the British Broadcasting Corporatio n and are used under licence.

All rights reserved. No part o f this p ub licatio n may be reprod uced, sto red in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form o r by any means, electro nic, mechanical, pho tocop ying, reco rd ing or otherwise, witho ut the p rior permissio n o f the copyright o wner.

The Rando m Ho use Gro up Limited Reg. No. 954009

Addresses for co mpanies within the Rando m Ho use Gro up can be fo und at www.rando mho use.co.uk

A CIP catalo gue record for this book is availab le fro m the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 846 07987 0

The Rando m Ho use Group Limited supports the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the lead ing internatio nal forest certificatio n organisatio n.

All o ur titles that are printed on Greenpeace appro ved FSC certified paper carry the FSC logo. O ur paper procurement po licy can be fo und at www.rbooks.co.uk!enviro nment

Commissio ning ed itor: Albert DePetrillo Series co nsultant: Justin Richards

Project editor: Steve Tribe

Cover design: Lee Bind ing © Woodlands Books Ltd, 2010

Production: Rebecca Jones

Printed and bo und in Great Britain b y C lays Ltd, St Ives P LC

To buy books b y yo ur favo urite authors and register for o ffers, visit www.rbooks.co.uk

To Robert

Sam Horwitz had never
felt so excited. The Grand Hall of the Ne w York Natural History Museum was packed with hundreds of people, all clutching invitations to 'See the New Wonder of the World'. In exactly two minutes, Sam was going to step out and show them his amazing discovery.

Sam fidgeted with his new white blazer. He'd never worn anything so bold before, but for this, the biggest day of his life, he wanted to impress. He had worked alone throughout the night to get the mysterious exhibit ready, and only he and the Director of the Museum knew what was hidden behind the thick velvet drapes.

Looking around the room, he felt dizzy with adrenalin. There were massed rows of schoolchildren

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DOCTOR WHO

and their grumpy teachers, bearded archaeologists, twitchy photographers, and the great and good of New York. He saw his friend Polly Vernon give him a little wave from the middle of the crowd. Polly was a teacher at a New York elementary school and had brought all of her class to cheer him on. He smiled nervously as she mouthed an encouraging 'good luck'. At the front, jostling for position, all the major TV stations were preparing to broadcast the first pictures live to the world. Sam knew they weren't going to be disappointed.

The Director of the Museum finished her introduction and called on Sam to take the stand. Sam took a deep breath.

Everything was about to change. He was about to become famous.

He strode across the Grand Hall to loud applause and stood blinking as camera lights flashed. The news crews signalled to each other: they were going live. Sam knew this was his big moment. All around the world, millions of people would be watching. Sam felt happier than he'd ever been. Those long weeks digging in the icy wastes of Svalbard had been worth it.

Sam stepped up to the podium, trying hard not to fiddle with his jacket buttons. He'd rehearsed this moment over and over again: a short thank you, a joke to show to everyone he was a down-to-earth kind of guy, then he'd pull the cord and bask in their applause.

8

THE FORGOTTEN ARMY

He reached the microphone, shuffled his papers and began to speak. 'Thank you, everyone, for coming. Today our ideas of the past are about to change for ever. We've had plenty of big displays in this Museum, but I can promise you, this is our most mammoth yet!'

Sam pulled the golden cord, and the velvet drapes dropped aside to reveal the world's only Polar Woolly Mammoth. It was one of the most majestic creatures ever to grace the Grand Hall.

Standing four metres tall, the mammoth looked wild, with rippling white fur and long tusks. Yet it was also strangely graceful, like a thoroughbred horse, ready to spring from the traps.

Sam knew that no one could fail to be impressed by its grandeur and size. It was as if the forces of evolution had sought to create in the Polar Woolly Mammoth the largest and most beautiful creature ever. But there were no gasps of awe -

the crowd had fallen silent. They were stunned and shocked, not delighted. Something was wrong. Sam started to feel sick in his stomach, like the day before a big exam. He turned to follow the anxious gaze of his audience.