1918 We will remember them (4 page)

“Yes sir.”

“Sir that is unfair.  I was only doing my best.  I should not be punished for that!”

“And you are not being punished, however if that is your best then I am not impressed, lieutenant! Get out of my sight before I do ground you!”

My bath, that evening, was more than welcome.  Bates gave me a disapproving look as he poured a kettle of boiling water in to warm it up.  He prided himself on the perfect temperature of the water. “Will you be flying in the morning sir?  I was talking to Senior Flight Sergeant Lowery and he thought there might be a problem with your aeroplane.”

“I am not sure.  It may be we are not needed tomorrow.  Certainly I could do with another couple of days to find the mettle of these new pilots.”

He stuck his finger in the water and nodded his approval.  “They are school boys, sir. They are like the boys in the first fifteen at my school.  They were all told by everyone that they were the brightest and the best and they believed it.  They bullied those not in the team and they were insufferable when they were successful.”

“You hated them then?” I stepped into the bath which was just the right temperature.

“At the time I did but then I felt sorry for them.  There is no way that they can live up to the dream they all hold.  I saw the same men at Loos and Ypres. They came back shivering wrecks or didn’t come back at all.  I found myself admiring those who fought back against the nerves and became damned good officers. Beg pardon, sir.”

“No, Bates I understand.  So you are saying that I should go easy on them?”

“Oh no sir.  I am saying that they can handle it.  Their egos will be bruised but better a bruised ego than a shattered body. The ones who fail to live up to your standards, well that is life isn’t it sir?  But mark my words sir, more of them will end up like Mr Holt and Mr Carrick and that, in the long run, is a good thing.”

My philosopher servant left.  I had only ever been to a village school and I had learned what I knew in the cavalry but Bates was right. I could not spare the rod.  It might cost men their lives.

I was on my way to dinner when Senior Flight Sergeant Lowery button holed me. “Have you got a moment, sir?”

The Senior Mechanic never bothered me at dinner time and I knew that it was important. “Of course, Raymond.”

He led me towards the aeroplanes.  They were all neatly parked although there was plenty of space between them in case of air attack. He waved the sentry away and took me to a workbench.

“When I spoke to the lads they told me about problems with the engines. They all said the same thing.  Engines were misfiring.  So far, it has been irritating rather than dangerous.  I looked at your bus sir, because I know the lads take the best care of that one. The engine seemed fine. I thought it might be the fuel, you know, dirt in it or something like that and then I recalled that we filter it all before we put it in.” He pointed to a metal tank.  “That is your fuel tank sir.  I had it taken out.”

“A little extreme eh Flight?”

“I wanted to be sure.  Now you didn’t have much fuel left. You could have only lasted five more minutes in the air so we drained your fuel and then washed it out.” He held up a metal dish. “This is what we found in your tank.”

There were tiny pieces of metal in the bottom. “Isn’t this normal?”

“For an old engine and tank?  Probably but yours is brand new.  Mr Carrick has a brand new aeroplane, only been up twice and we found the same in his.”

“I may be being thick here Flight but explain it to me so that I know exactly what you are saying.”

“I am saying sir, that we have a saboteur on the base.  Someone is putting pieces of metal in with the fuel.  The further you fly the more chance you have of the metal getting into the engine and making you crash. Today was just such a day.”

“So Lieutenant Harvey could have crashed because his engine was sabotaged, rather than being shot down.”

“I think so sir.”

“Who else knows about this?”

“No-one sir.  I sent the lads to dinner while I checked it myself.”

“Keep it that way. I will make sure we have no operations tomorrow. I want every fuel tank taking out and cleaning before we fly again.”

“With respect sir if you do that you will tip our hand and the saboteur will know we are on to him. We need to find him or them first.”

“You are quite right.  Then I will see the Colonel and we will devise some way to solve this problem. Thank you Flight.”

“Sir, this is my squadron too and I will have that bastard’s nuts in a vice when I find him.”

I smiled, “I am not certain that the powers that be will allow that but leave it with me.  Come to the colonel’s office after breakfast in the morning.” As he walked away I frowned. The men in the squadron were the best I had ever served alongside.  I could not countenance that one of them was an enemy agent.

I was almost late for dinner and I saw a frown crease Archie’s face as I entered the mess.  He knew that it was not like me to be late.  I gave the slightest of shakes of the head and smiled at everyone.  “Sorry I am late.  Bates wanted the temperature of the bath to be just right!”

Everyone smiled at that.  They all knew Bates and his ways. I stood behind my chair as Archie said Grace and the mess orderlies hurried in as soon as we were seated. I spoke quietly so that only Randolph and Archie, who were on either side of me, could hear what I said. I saw that Ted and Gordy were curious but they knew I would tell them later if it concerned them.

“We have a saboteur. Sergeant Lowery found metal in the fuel tanks. It explains why our engines have been running badly lately.” I paused while the steward ladled the soup into the bowl. When they had gone I continued. “It has only begun since we returned to this field. It explains why young Lowery crashed today. I told Lowery we would not fly operations tomorrow.”

“Good idea.  Bit of a bugger though.  I thought all of our chaps were good fellows.”

“They may be.  It could be someone coming from outside the base. Equally it could be someone new.”

Randolph shook his head.  “There are only the new pilots and gunners who have joined us since we returned.  All of the other ranks have been with us all the time.  Certainly they have been with us when we had no sabotage. I can’t see pilots and gunners sabotaging the engines.  Their lives are on the line.”

“Are you sure about this Bill?”

“I saw the evidence with my own eyes.  There are pieces of metal in the tanks of the new aeroplanes.”

“Perhaps the sabotage is in England where they make the aeroplanes.”

“There are metal pieces in the older aeroplanes too. I used mine at Ypres and there was no problem. I think that Harvey died today not because his bus was damaged by German fire but because he used so much fuel that the metal got into the engine and it stopped.”

“Could it be one of the new pilots?”

“It could be but they would have to have a death wish.  They fly the buses too.”

We paused again as the soup was taken away and the main courses came. “We better have a drink and chat about something else sir, everyone is watching us.”

Randolph was right.  We looked serious and conspiratorial; it was not our way. “You are right.  Join me in my office after the port then.”

As we left the mess I nodded for Gordy, Freddie  and Ted to join us.  Once in the office hut, which the office staff had vacated and was empty, Ted asked.  “What’s up?”

I told them.  The looks on their faces showed what they thought. Ted summed it up succinctly.  “It’s bad enough going against those triplanes without having to worry that someone has damaged the bus you are in.  What do we do?”

“I have been thinking about this over dinner. It seems to me that there are two possibilities: one is a saboteur coming in at night and doing their deadly deed.  The second is that it is one of our chaps.  We can eliminate the first one.”

“How?”

“Increase the number of guards we have around the aeroplanes at night.”

“But if it is one of our chaps then won’t that tip them off?”

“Not if you receive a telephone call from Headquarters warning them of possible German infiltrators close to our airfields.  You will have to warn Headquarters anyway.”

“Good idea, Bill, but we can’t ground the squadron for long. This is the time when the Hun is out and about.  They have been quiet in this sector for a few weeks and that normally means that they are planning something.”

Archie was right. I filled my pipe and the others stared at the walls for inspiration. Suddenly Randolph smacked his hand on the desk. “This saboteur is a clever fellow; are we agreed?” We nodded.  “He has not been spotted by the mechanics which means he is doing this when the mechanics are not around.  I know that Lowery keeps the same mechanics on the same buses.  They all protect their own aeroplanes very jealously. The times when they can get to the buses are after the mechanics finish and before they begin again.”

“That would be any time between six in the evening and four in the morning when they do the pre flight checks.”

Randolph shook his head. “No we can narrow it down even further.  I think even the doziest sentry would see someone when there was daylight.  That means it is between eight at night and three in the morning. Between dusk and dawn.”

“Then I have an idea.  Tomorrow we work on my bus and say we have a special mission over the German lines.  As it is a long flight it will explain why Flight Sergeant Lowery has to flush out the tank to make sure that we have the maximum range.”

“And what happens then?”

“I spend the night in the cockpit.”

“Suppose the saboteur is from outside the camp?”

“Then the extra guards will spot them.”

“Suppose it is one of the guards?  How will you get into the bus?”

“That is easy. Sergeant Wilson parades the guards before they begin their duty and explains that there have been rumours of German soldiers attacking bases at night.  It will put them on their toes.”

I saw agreement forming on the faces of the others.  Freddie nodded and said, “It would make more sense if it was two buses.  I normally fly as your wingman anyway. I will spend the night in my bus too. It will not seem unusual.”

Before I could disagree Archie said, “Capital idea and I am happier with two pairs of eyes and ears.”

“I will start to go through the records of all the men in the squadron.  There may be clues in their background.”

Ted shook his head, “I can’t believe it is one of our blokes.  I reckon it is more likely to be someone coming through the hedgerow.”

I was not so sure. Whoever it was knew aeroplanes and knew how to damage aeroplanes and make it hard to detect. “Well I will get an early night.  I asked Flight Sergeant Lowery to meet us here after breakfast.  We can explain my plan to him then.”

I lay in bed, unable to sleep.  It was earlier than I normally retired but, more than that, my mind was filled with the horrific thought that we had a traitor in our midst. I could hardly contemplate it.  We were a tight team and fought as one, ground and air crew together. I began to doubt everyone.  Who could I trust?

I was bad tempered from the moment I woke up.  I snapped at Bates.  Amazingly he smiled at me as though he had expected it.  When the war was over we could tour the music halls with his mind reading act. I sat sullenly through breakfast.  I was tired and I did not like the thought of a traitor in our midst.

We explained our ideas to Flight Sergeant Lowery who nodded approvingly. “We need this weasel winkling out sir.  If the lads knew we had a saboteur...” Shaking his head he said, “I think they would string the bugger up from the nearest tree.” He rose, “Well I shall get the buses sorted.” He paused, “Do you think it might be a saboteur from outside the base?”

I shook my head, “Personally I don’t think so. We don’t always park the buses in the same place and only someone who knew aeroplanes would know where the fuel tank was. I reckon the odds are that it is someone on the field but Sergeant Wilson and his chaps will be on their toes tonight.”

Freddie and I took ourselves out to the buses to watch the mechanics working on the Camels. I studied every face for deception or for signs of guilt but I saw none. The young pilots came out, full of curiosity.  “Something special then sir?”

I tapped my nose, “I could tell you but then I would have to kill you, Lieutenant McDonald.” I said it with humour and they all laughed. The mechanics were both diligent and careful when they took out the tank and cleaned it thoroughly.  Sergeant Lowery was right it couldn’t be one of the mechanics.  They regarded each aeroplane as their personal possession.

We heard the sound of an engine approaching and looked to see a Sopwith Camel approaching from the west.  We did not recognise it but Freddie knew who it would be.  “That is Johnny! He’s back.”

The last time we had seen Johnny was just before they took him to the base hospital after he had lost his eye. I frowned. He was flying the Camel solo and yet I thought he had to be passed fit before he could return to active duty.  I suspect my bad mood was still with me.  I had flown a Gunbus with a broken arm! My nerves were getting the better of me.  The spy in the camp was unsettling.  It might be good to have Johnny back.  Freddie was always happier when his old friend was around and I knew that Johnny would be good for the younger pilots. He spoke their language.

The Camel rolled to a halt and Johnny leapt out. When he took his goggles off, I saw the black patch covering the wound. Freddie burst out laughing.  “You look like a damned pirate!”

I held my breath.  I would never have dared to make such a comment. Johnny laughed too.  “Well I thought I had better come back and keep my eye on you lot! My good eye, at least!”

I breathed again. Johnny was neither self conscious nor worried about the wound.  I held out my hand.  “Good to see you Johnny. How is the eye?”

He gave me a deadpan look. “I have no idea.  I haven’t seen it since the doc took it out!” He burst out laughing as did Freddie.  Suddenly my bad mood disappeared like early morning mist.

“I take it you have more of these jokes stored up for us?”

“Oh hundreds sir.  Enough to see me through the week at any rate.”

I shook my head.  This was death by pun. “Has the doc cleared you to fly then?”

“Yes sir.  I was ready to return a week ago but the new bus hadn’t arrived and the medicos wanted to make sure I could manage it.  I went up in a two seater with a major from 56 Squadron.  He was well satisfied. He gave me a clean bill of health.”

“No problems then?”

“Not flying the Camel.  I just aim the bus at the Hun and pull the trigger.  Bob’s your uncle. I have to turn to the right a little more to see behind me, that is all.  The doctor said something about a loss of periphery vision; whatever the hell that is but I didn’t have a problem getting here.”

“Good. Well, Freddie will fill you in on the changes that have been made.  You are his number two now and he should be a captain in the next week or so.”

Freddie didn’t know about his promotion; the news had only come in that morning and both he and Johnny were equally delighted.

“Well Captain Carrick, as you are now a higher rank and have more pay then you can buy me a drink in the mess to celebrate.” I gave the slightest of shakes of my head to Freddie and he nodded.  “Let me fill you in first, old chap.  We have lots of time to have that drink!”

Johnny could be trusted to keep his mouth shut but I did not want Freddie sleepily drunk if we were to keep our vigil that night.

Had we actually been going on a mission deep into enemy territory then I would have been delighted with the diligence of the mechanics and riggers.  When the Camel was started it purred like a kitten.  Senior Flight Sergeant Lowery wandered over to me. “Now that is what the Camel should sound like.  My lads do good work.”

“I know Flight and there has not been a whiff of criticism.  This is a saboteur.”

“I know, Major Harsker, but it could be one of my lads and that doesn’t sit well. It was me as spotted the problem but I wish I hadn’t.  I was up half the night going through my men in my mind and working out who it could be.  None of them fitted.  I’m stumped.”

“If no one comes tonight then we know it is a German from beyond our airfield and we can do something about it.”

Lowery went away happier but I knew, in my heart that the man who had tried to kill so many of us was within sight and sound of me. The news of a German infiltrator coming from outside set everyone looking towards the roads, hedges and nearby building. It was as though each of them housed a Hun.

Before dinner I loaded my Luger and my Webley. I had Bates fill the flask with hot black coffee.  He did not question my request.  He was the perfect servant.  After dinner I returned to my quarters to wrap up in my greatcoat.  I waited until I heard Sergeant Wilson marching the night time sentries to parade them and give them their instructions.  Then I slipped away to the aeroplanes. It was remarkably quiet. The sun was setting in the west and the field was filling with shadows.  Sergeant Lowery was giving the mechanics and riggers a talk about maintenance and the sentries were being paraded. I saw Freddie as he came from his quarters.  I nodded to him and then, after checking that no one was watching, we both climbed aboard.  There was no one around and the sky was quickly darkening.  I hoped that we had managed to do it without being observed.

It was a tight fit in the cockpit but by pulling my knees up and hunching my back I was able to hide beneath the sides of the cockpit.  I could not remain like that all night but I only had to do so until night fell and then I would be hidden by the struts and the shadow of the upper wing. I decided to wait until it was completely dark.  I heard Sergeant Wilson as he marched the guards and allotted them their positions.  There was twice as many as normal.  They had been told to watch the perimeter for Germans and anyone who approached the Camels would be suspect. I heard the Sergeant tell them to call him if they saw anything suspicious and not to leave their patrol area.  He terrified me and, I dare say, did the same for the men who guarded our air base.