Read Online 1916 Angels over the Somme (British Ace Book 3) by Griff Hosker - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Griff Hosker
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the Military Cross.”
Some more men came out of nearby trenches and one shouted, “Lumpy? Is that you?”
“It is our kid.” He shook the soldier’s hand. “It’s the wife’s cousin sir. Mind if I chat?”
“Go ahead. We’ll pick you up when we have finished here.”
Just then I saw a group of officers coming down the trench.
“Ten, shun!”
“What’s going on here, Marsden?” He saw the colonel and smiled, “I am guessing you must be Colonel Pemberton-Smythe.”
“Yes Colonel. Headquarters thought it might be useful for us to see the land from the ground, so to speak.”
Colonel McCartney shook his head. “Well I can’t believe it. They actually have someone at HQ who has an idea! Come on then I’ll give you the tour.”
I turned to the soldiers we had spoken to. “Good luck lads.”
“And to you sir. You have plenty of guts to go up in one of those things!”
As we followed the colonel I thought the same about him. It took plenty of guts to do what they did.
“This is a reserve trench. We will rest here for three days and then go back up the line. I’ll take you to the front line so that you can see what it is like.” He seemed to see me for the first time. “Were you one of the lads who saved our bacon the other day?”
I nodded, “This is Sergeant Hutton and I am Captain Harsker, sir. We were one of the aeroplanes.”
He shook me by the hand. “You were a Godsend. When the Hun opened up we all said our prayers. The Chaplain said God had sent his angels to watch over us.”
“We were glad to be of help.”
“Do you mind if I am honest with you?”
“Please.”
“Until that day we thought you lads were all a bunch of toffs swanning around in the skies. That’s all we ever saw of you. High in the sky like little flies having your little fights with the Germans. Now we know that you are on our side. So thank you. Let’s get started.”
As we followed the Colonel and his Sergeant Major I felt shocked. I could understand how the infantry felt but it wasn’t true. We would have to do something about that image when we returned.
It was like a maze. I had no idea how they knew where we were going. We saw increasing evidence of the proximity of the enemy. There were sentries at every junction and they all looked at us warily. At one point the Sergeant Major shouted, “Shell!” He unceremoniously pushed the colonel and me into the side of the trench. There was an enormous crack and crump and after we were hit by a wall of air we were showered in dirt and debris. My ears rang.
The Sergeant Major grinned, “Sorry about that sirs but the Huns like to try to catch us out and fire blind. Of course if the buggers have their spotter aeroplanes up then we have to send for stretcher bearers.”
After another twenty minutes we stopped. “This is almost as far as we go. There are Germans two hundred yards away.” The colonel pointed to a firing step. “If you stand on there you can see the German lines through the periscope.”
I stood on the firing step and peered through the crudely made periscope. I could see barbed wire and then sandbags. That had to be the German lines. I had just stepped down when I heard the sound of Rolls Royce engines. I looked up. “There, it’s our squadron.”
Colonel McCartney said, “How do you know?”
“The 41 on the tail.”
We watched as they dived down to an unseen target. The rattle of the Lewis was the only evidence of action for they were hidden by the sandbags and the trenches. It was infuriating to hear and not to see. After ten minutes or so they hummed into view again.
Colonel McCartney said, “That is the reason we had the opinion of you we did before. They will be back home in a dry billet in half an hour. Our lads live like this.” He lifted a canvas door and we peered in to a hole in the ground lit by a candle and with beds cut into the earth walls. “We manage
Some more men came out of nearby trenches and one shouted, “Lumpy? Is that you?”
“It is our kid.” He shook the soldier’s hand. “It’s the wife’s cousin sir. Mind if I chat?”
“Go ahead. We’ll pick you up when we have finished here.”
Just then I saw a group of officers coming down the trench.
“Ten, shun!”
“What’s going on here, Marsden?” He saw the colonel and smiled, “I am guessing you must be Colonel Pemberton-Smythe.”
“Yes Colonel. Headquarters thought it might be useful for us to see the land from the ground, so to speak.”
Colonel McCartney shook his head. “Well I can’t believe it. They actually have someone at HQ who has an idea! Come on then I’ll give you the tour.”
I turned to the soldiers we had spoken to. “Good luck lads.”
“And to you sir. You have plenty of guts to go up in one of those things!”
As we followed the colonel I thought the same about him. It took plenty of guts to do what they did.
“This is a reserve trench. We will rest here for three days and then go back up the line. I’ll take you to the front line so that you can see what it is like.” He seemed to see me for the first time. “Were you one of the lads who saved our bacon the other day?”
I nodded, “This is Sergeant Hutton and I am Captain Harsker, sir. We were one of the aeroplanes.”
He shook me by the hand. “You were a Godsend. When the Hun opened up we all said our prayers. The Chaplain said God had sent his angels to watch over us.”
“We were glad to be of help.”
“Do you mind if I am honest with you?”
“Please.”
“Until that day we thought you lads were all a bunch of toffs swanning around in the skies. That’s all we ever saw of you. High in the sky like little flies having your little fights with the Germans. Now we know that you are on our side. So thank you. Let’s get started.”
As we followed the Colonel and his Sergeant Major I felt shocked. I could understand how the infantry felt but it wasn’t true. We would have to do something about that image when we returned.
It was like a maze. I had no idea how they knew where we were going. We saw increasing evidence of the proximity of the enemy. There were sentries at every junction and they all looked at us warily. At one point the Sergeant Major shouted, “Shell!” He unceremoniously pushed the colonel and me into the side of the trench. There was an enormous crack and crump and after we were hit by a wall of air we were showered in dirt and debris. My ears rang.
The Sergeant Major grinned, “Sorry about that sirs but the Huns like to try to catch us out and fire blind. Of course if the buggers have their spotter aeroplanes up then we have to send for stretcher bearers.”
After another twenty minutes we stopped. “This is almost as far as we go. There are Germans two hundred yards away.” The colonel pointed to a firing step. “If you stand on there you can see the German lines through the periscope.”
I stood on the firing step and peered through the crudely made periscope. I could see barbed wire and then sandbags. That had to be the German lines. I had just stepped down when I heard the sound of Rolls Royce engines. I looked up. “There, it’s our squadron.”
Colonel McCartney said, “How do you know?”
“The 41 on the tail.”
We watched as they dived down to an unseen target. The rattle of the Lewis was the only evidence of action for they were hidden by the sandbags and the trenches. It was infuriating to hear and not to see. After ten minutes or so they hummed into view again.
Colonel McCartney said, “That is the reason we had the opinion of you we did before. They will be back home in a dry billet in half an hour. Our lads live like this.” He lifted a canvas door and we peered in to a hole in the ground lit by a candle and with beds cut into the earth walls. “We manage
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