The Lost Years (24 page)

But for Perys, everything else was secondary to the fact that he was now flying once more, even though much of what he was doing was elementary compared with the advanced aerobatics he had practised with Nick Malloch.

His flying knowledge and abilities were soon recognised by the instructors at the Central Flying School and he was often detailed to run ‘errands’, using one of the school’s aeroplanes.

Three weeks into his course, Perys was called to the office of Major Kemp, no explanation being given for the summons. Perturbed because he could think of no reason why the major should want to see him, Perys entered the office apprehensively.

His reception was immediately reassuring.

‘Ah, Tremayne, come in! Take a seat.’ Leaning back in his chair, Thomas Kemp beamed at Perys. ‘How are you enjoying the advanced flying course? Having no trouble with it?’

‘None at all, sir, it’s good to be back in the air once more.’

‘I thought you would feel that way. I can tell you that your chief instructor regards you very highly. He has asked whether he might take you on to his staff at the end of the course.’

Perys was dismayed. He had not joined the RFC in order that he might spend the war teaching others to fly.

Correctly reading his expression, Thomas Kemp smiled. ‘It’s all right, Tremayne, I told him I felt you would want to serve your country in a more positive role. I feel the same way and have finally managed to persuade the War Office that my talents and experience should be put to use on active service. I have been placed in command of a front-line squadron, with effect from the first of April.’

The date was more than a month ahead, but Major Kemp explained, ‘I won’t be allowed to fly until then, but I thought I would go across to France and have a look at the squadron before I took over. How would you like to fly me there?’

‘Me, sir?’ The question took Perys by surprise. He was still officially under training.

‘All available pilots at the school are fully committed. You’re as capable as anyone I know of making the flight. If you were to miss the remainder of the course you’d still be a better pilot than any of your contemporaries. Of course, if the thought of such a long flight worries you . . .’

‘It would be no problem at all, sir,’ Perys said hurriedly. ‘I’ll be delighted to fly you there. When do we leave?’

‘Good man, I didn’t think I had misjudged you. We might as well leave tomorrow. I’ll have one of the spare BE2c’s made ready. If the weather is in our favour we will fly to Saint Omer, stay there for a night, then go on to the squadron’s airfield, close to Ypres - that’s in Belgium. We’ll spend a couple of days there so I can get to know the pilots and have an idea of what’s going on, then we’ll come back here in time for the weekend.’

* * *

The weather was good when Major Kemp boarded the BE2c the following day, loading a rifle and a shotgun into the aeroplane with him. A great many of the Central Flying School turned out to see them off. Flying was still something of a novelty, even here, and a flight of some hundred and sixty miles, much of it over water, was regarded as an adventure.

Perys had no doubt about his ability and that of the BE2c to make the flight safely, and his confidence was not misplaced. Just under three hours later, he was taxying the aircraft towards the buildings of the French headquarters of the Royal Flying Corps at St Omer.

Climbing stiffly from the forward cockpit, Thomas Kemp said, ‘Thank you, Perys. That was a very enjoyable flight.’ It was the first time he had called Perys by his Christian name, and he confirmed the satisfaction he felt with his pilot by adding, ‘When we return to the CFS you have my authority to put up your wings. You have earned them.’

The affixing of the cloth ‘wings’ above the pocket of a uniform jacket was the dream of every trainee pilot. It was the membership badge of an elite club and told the world that here was an elite fighting man. His words delighted Perys.

The next day, Perys flew the major to the advanced airfield close to the small, war- shattered Belgian town of Ypres, where Number 2 Squadron was based. This was the squadron Major Kemp would be commanding.

Once on the ground with the engine switched off, the sound of artillery fire was much in evidence. It was taking place not too far away. The RFC officer who had come out to greet them passed it off nonchalantly.

‘They always have a little duel about this time of day. I think they use it as an opportunity to train gunners on both sides of the lines. Fortunately for us, they haven’t yet brought any guns up to this part of the front with sufficient range to reach the airfield.’

Perys remained at the forward airfield with the major for two full days, during which time he was taken to the ruined town of Ypres and also visited the trenches of the front-line with Major Kemp, meeting the artillerymen for whom the squadron’s aircraft performed duties as spotters. Both men also met with the pilots of Number 2 Squadron, who were particularly curious about Perys’s lack of wings and his two unusual medals.

The days passed by very quickly and soon it was time to set off on the return flight to Upavon. As Major Kemp was to be their next commanding officer, a number of the squadron’s officers assembled to see him on his way.

But there was one man who watched the aeroplane taxying out for take-off who had not made himself known to Perys. Seated at the wheel of a staff car, Martin Bray told himself for the umpteenth time that it would have been embarrassing for both of them had he done so. Perys was an officer, while Martin was only a motor transport driver. Men serving in the ranks did not show undue familiarity towards their superiors.

There was another reason why Martin had been uncertain about approaching Perys. He had received a number of letters from Polly, and although she had not gone into great detail, she had made him aware of much of what had occurred when Perys last visited Heligan.

His knowledge of the situation was sketchy, but Martin knew that Annie and his parents had fallen out over Perys. He also knew that Annie was supposed to be marrying Jimmy Rowe, although Polly reported that his sister was not at all certain she was doing the right thing. As a result, she was deeply unhappy.

His letters from his mother had made no mention of a visit from Perys, and he had received no mail from Annie, although he had written to her. In his letter he had mentioned the time they had spent together with Perys and asked, in a guarded way, whether life was happy with her.

There was always the possibility that she had replied to tell him what was happening. Since arriving in France, Martin had moved from squadron to squadron before arriving at the present airfield. Mail was always slow in catching up with servicemen who did not remain in one place for long.

He would have liked to have heard from Annie before meeting with Perys and discussing her with him. He had always believed Perys’s affection for her went far deeper than anyone realised.

Chapter 38

As the BE2c taxied away from the farewell party, Thomas turned in his cockpit and motioned for Perys to lean towards him. When Perys did so, the major shouted in his ear, ‘When we take off, climb in a spiral, staying close to the front-lines. Gain as much height as you can.’

‘Why?’ Perys shouted in return. He needed to be clear about the major’s intentions. Conversation would be impossible once they were in the air.

‘I want to see the extent of the trenches. Number Two squadron is largely involved in reconnaissance. I want to see for myself what sort of a task it is going to be, and we couldn’t have a finer day for it.’ He did not explain that a major offensive was in the offing and constant updating of reconnaissance photographs would be of vital importance to the success or failure of the planned assault on the German lines.

Perys nodded agreement. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and visibility was excellent.

Once in the air, Perys kept the BE2c climbing. He began to level off at five thousand feet, but Major Kemp motioned for him to continue climbing. Perys obeyed his orders. It was possible to see the twin lines of trenches snaking side-by-side into the distance. It was also possible to see the flashes of gunfire from artillery positions behind both lines.

They were some distance behind the German lines and the major was looking over the side of the cockpit when he suddenly turned to Perys and made excited gestures, calling his attention to something beneath them. He shouted too, but Perys was unable to make out what he was saying above the roar of the engine.

Banking in order to get a better view of what the other man was pointing at, Perys could at first see nothing. Then, far below them he could see a British aeroplane of the same type as their own, flying a zig-zag path towards the line of trenches. It was being harassed by three aircraft bearing German markings and it was immediately apparent that they were forcing it to fly ever lower.

Major Kemp gesticulated wildly for Perys to take the BE2c down. Reaching into the cockpit, he came up brandishing the rifle he had placed there before setting off from England. With a sudden thrill of fear, Perys realised that the other man intended that they should go down and take on the three German aircraft!

He put the nose of the plane down in a steep dive. As the wind whistled with increasing fury in the wires between the wings, Perys tried to remember all Nick Malloch had taught him about combat in the aerial games they used to play. He was also thinking about the pictures he had seen of German aircraft. If he could identify those they were diving upon he would know the guns they carried. This would, in turn, give him an idea of the best position from which to mount an attack, if such a word could be used to describe Major Kemp potting at the Germans with a rifle and a shotgun!

As they neared the other aircraft, the British aeroplane appeared to be in serious trouble. Its propeller was still turning, but a thin stream of blue smoke was trailing from the engine. It was doubtful whether it could remain in the air for very much longer.

The sudden arrival on the scene of Perys’s BE2c caused a degree of consternation among the German airmen that was out of all proportion to his ability to change the course of such a one-sided battle. The BE2c’s dive carried it past the rearmost German aircraft at considerable speed, but this did not prevent Major Kemp from firing off two quick shots before they were out of range. It was highly unlikely the shots caused any damage, but the sheer shock of being overtaken at such close range caused the German pilot to take violent avoiding action, immediately putting his plane out of the fight.

The BE2c was now flying beneath another of the German aeroplanes and this time Major Kemp’s shots did strike home. The two British fliers could not know that one of the rifle bullets caused a painful wound to the German pilot’s buttocks. It was sufficient to make him decide to give up the chase of the damaged British aircraft.

Now the odds were reversed, although the pursued British aircraft was in no condition to take any further part in the fight. Fortunately, they had reached the twin line of trenches - and German pilots had strict orders not to operate beyond their own lines. The remaining German broke off the fight in the knowledge that his original quarry could not remain in the air for long.

The pilot of the damaged British aircraft was fighting hard to keep the plane in the air, at least until it was able to crash-land behind British.

It was a battle he lost. The faltering engine died when the aeroplane was low over the German lines and it landed in no-man’s land, equal distant between the two opposing sets of trenches.

As the aircraft tilted on to its nose, a cheer went up from the German lines, but the crashed aeroplane neither broke up nor caught fire. Moments later, two men in flying suits scrambled out and began running awkwardly towards the British trenches.

The cheers from the German troops changed to howls of disappointment and they began shooting at the two airmen. The shots were immediately returned from the British lines. Caught up in the crossfire, the men dropped to the ground, taking cover in a shallow shell-hole.

Completing a climbing turn, Perys grasped the situation and nosed his BE2c down towards the front-line German trench. Immediately, most of the guns firing at the two stranded airmen were turned on the British aircraft. As the plane banked for another run, Major Kemp returned the German fire with his rifle. Perys thought wryly that he seemed to be enjoying himself.

Skimming along just above the trenches once more, Perys was alarmed to see a small group of German soldiers, led by an officer, leap over the parapet of the trench and begin running towards the airmen. Banking the aircraft once more, and flying dangerously close to the ground now, he headed for the Germans who were intent on capturing the British fliers.

They heard the aircraft heading towards them and dropped to the ground in the nick of time. However, not all the soldiers were preoccupied with self-preservation. The tiny glass windshield in front of Perys suddenly disintegrated and he realised it had been struck by a bullet that must have missed his head by a hair’s breadth.

But his latest pass over no-man’s land had drawn the attention of the two stranded airmen to their danger, and they gained a few precious yards before dropping to the ground once more.

Perys strafed the would-be captors one more time and on this occasion Major Kemp resorted to using his revolver, with little more success than he had achieved with his rifle. Nevertheless, a number of German soldiers remained sprawled on the ground and Perys guessed they must have fallen casualty to fire from the British trenches.

By now a British rescue party had ventured into no-man’s land. With their aid, the airmen were nearing the safety of the British lines - but Perys had other matters to worry about.

The BE2c had been struck by a great many German bullets and the engine began popping and spluttering alarmingly. Perys thought the fuel system had been damaged. Fortunately, he was able to nurse the aircraft over the British lines. Clearing the ruined outbuildings of a totally destroyed farm, he set the BE2c down in a field that was pock-marked with shell-holes. It was a heavy landing and the undercarriage collapsed. However, the aircraft was right-way-up and both men scrambled clear quickly for fear that it might catch fire.