One for the Road

by Will Roberts

  At first, he thought it might have been the very one the Drum Major so proudly used that eventful morning but, on closer inspection, he discovered Chinese writing on it. He wiped the mouthpiece and held it to his lips for several seconds, but could not bring himself to blow. He never wanted to hear the sound of a bugle again. He placed the bugle in his bag.

  On the 10th July ceasefire negotiations began; later, the 29th Brigade was merged into the 1st Commonwealth Division.

  For the next few months, Jackie and Lim’s existence was pretty mundane. The summer months were beautiful and Jackie again fell in love with Korea, but as winter approached the 29th Infantry Brigade’s tour of duty was coming to an end.

  As the Ulster Rifles and the Northumberland Fusiliers began boarding the train for their journey to Pusan and a ship to England, Jackie and Lim were on a last patrol along the Imjin River before being due to travel to Pusan; however, both failed to return.

  Corporal Jackie Gee and Corporal Dong Woo Lim had disappeared and were presumed captured by the Chinese.

  Changwon, York and Cardiff

  February 2000

  Adam’s contract in South Korea was almost over. The following morning he would travel home and he was looking forward to spending some time with his son, Paul. The furnace was operating well and the client’s operators were running the furnace without any assistance from Adam or his colleagues.

  Several of his colleagues were also leaving on the same day and it was planned to meet in Ban’s Bar for a final get together and a farewell beer.

  This turned out to be considerably more than one and the following morning Adam’s head was throbbing. One for the road! he thought. If only it had been one. He took a light breakfast and a lot of coffee then, after breakfast and back in his room, a couple of aspirin.

  The taxi was waiting for him outside the hotel to take him to the railway station at Changwon and it wasn’t long before he was in his comfortable reclining seat on the high-speed train to Seoul. He was hoping he would sleep, but sleep did not come. There was something gnawing at the back of his mind: the Korean War photograph old Mr Lim had shown him, of the British soldier, Mr Lim and the young Korean girl, Mina, now Mr Lim’s wife.

  It was a fantastic story. Somebody should write a book about it, Adam thought. Jacky Gee was a real hero if what Mr Lim had told him was true, and he had no reason to doubt him.

  It was late afternoon when Adam arrived at Heathrow airport in London. He collected the rental car he had reserved the day before and was driving towards the M25 when he pulled off the road and stopped the car. The sign in front of him told him he should turn left for the M4 and South Wales or straight ahead for The North. He sat for a while contemplating what to do, the photograph he had been shown still on his mind.

  Adam picked up his mobile phone and called his sister, Sian, in York. She picked up straight away.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Hi Sian, it’s Adam,” Adam replied.

  “Hi, little bruv! Where are you?” Sian asked.

  “I’m at Heathrow. I’ve just flown in from South Korea. Sian, tell me, has mum still got that old suitcase with all the old photographs?” Adam asked.

  “Er, yes she has. It’s in the attic. What’s this all about, Adam?” Sian inquired.

  “I’ll explain when I get there. I’ll be at your place in about four hours. Okay,” Adam said.

  “Yes, sure. Drive carefully and I’ll see you soon,” Sian answered.

  Adam was desperate to see his son, but this would have to be delayed by a day, he thought, as he drove past the exit to the M4 and continued north, towards the A1 exit. He drove close to the speed limit the whole way and it was evening when he arrived at his sister’s home, where his mother also now lived.

  After greetings were exchanged and a quick cup of tea had, Adam opened the battered old suitcase that Sian had already brought down from the attic. When he was young, Adam had loved to look at the old black and white photos which his mother kept in this old brown suitcase.

  This time he was looking for one in particular. It took him a while, but eventually, he found the one he was looking for. There were, in fact, several photographs taken at around the same time, in a public house, it appeared. Two men and his mother. The two men were smoking cigarettes and each holding a pint glass of beer. His mother held a spirit’s glass. Probably containing gin and tonic, Adam thought. The two men were his late father, Gareth, and his uncle Joe.

  “This is the one!” Adam whispered to himself.

  “Can I borrow this, Mum?” Adam asked his mother holding up the one with the best clarity.

  “Which one, Adam? Let me see,” his mother queried.

  Adam handed the photograph to his mother who, after putting on her glasses, peered at the old photograph.

  “This was taken at the Wheatsheaf in Cardiff in 1949, Adam, the last time I saw Joe. But why do you want it, Adam? What have you found?” his mother asked, almost pleading.

  “I’m not sure yet, mum, but I do know that I need to get back to South Korea. Old Mr Lim has not told me everything. Of that, I’m sure!”

  “Who is old Mr Lim?” both Sian and his mother asked together in perfect synchronisation.

  Adam gave them a brief account of what Lim had told him, but there were still a lot of gaps to be filled and he thought that Lim would be able to fill most of them, but to do that he needed to be back in South Korea.

  Adam had initially intended to leave that evening and travel to South Wales, but his mother and Sian insisted that he stay the night and travel tomorrow. In the end, good sense prevailed and he slept the night in his nephew’s bed, who happened to be staying with friends overnight.

  Though he was extremely tired after the flight from Seoul and the drive from Heathrow, Adam didn’t sleep too well, with the thought that just maybe he had found his long-lost Uncle Joe.

  The next morning, he had a quick breakfast and said goodbye to his mother and sister and travelled on to South Wales. It was Friday and halfway through the journey that he stopped at a service station for coffee and to call his ex-wife, Helen, to ask if it would be okay to have Paul for the weekend.

  “No problem,” she said, “but don’t forget he’s playing soccer for the school team on Saturday morning.”

  “That’s great,” Adam replied. “It will be good to watch him play.”

  Unlike his father, Paul preferred football to rugby and Adam had an idea of getting tickets for Cardiff City’s game on Saturday – he just hoped they were playing at home and not away. He would find out on the Internet when he got to his flat. He would also look for a flight back to Seoul on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

  Fortunately, Cardiff City, Paul’s favourite team – apart from Chelsea – were indeed playing at home, against Plymouth Argyle, and were currently pushing for promotion from the third to the second division. Recently, the club had been taken over by the Lebanese businessman, Sam Hammam, and his investment had seen a rise in the team’s fortunes on the pitch. Paul’s favourite player was Robert Earnshaw, who Adam also thought was very talented and liked to watch, though he would have much preferred to be watching his local rugby team.

  Adam collected Paul from Helen’s home on Saturday morning and took Paul to his school for his game against another local school. The weather was fine, fortunately, and Adam enjoyed watching his son play. Paul was tall for his age and played centre-half, and his game had improved considerably since Adam last saw him play, back when he was in primary school when the whole team used to swarm around the ball. It was an extremely open game, but Paul’s team lost by three goals to two.

  “What do you fancy doing this weekend, Paul?” Adam asked Paul after the game and they were driving back to Adam’s flat.

  “I don’t know Dad. Pizza tonight at Antonio’s?” Paul replied.

  “Yeah, we can do that. But what about this afternoon?” Adam continued. “How about watching the Bluebirds?”

  “Oh, lush, Dad, you
got tickets?” Paul gushed. “Is Earnie playing?”

  “Yeah, we pick up the tickets at the ground. I don’t know if Earnie’s playing. I suppose he’ll be playing if he’s fit,” Adam answered.

  Paul continued talking about Earnie and Cardiff City for the rest of the journey back to Adam’s flat, where they dropped off Adam’s rental car and made the short walk to the railway station to catch the train to Cardiff. En route they stopped at a fast food outlet where they each got a beef burger and fries.

  The game was pretty one-sided, with Cardiff City winning quite convincingly; inevitably, Earnie scored a goal, which Paul celebrated with great enthusiasm.

  After the train journey back, Adam took Paul to Antonio’s restaurant as he had promised, where Paul chose pizza and Adam carbonara.

  Most of the conversation at the restaurant was about football but, as they were waiting for the bill, out of the blue Paul asked his father a question.

  “Dad,” he said, “is there any chance you and mum could get back together?”

  Adam was taken aback by this question. His son had never spoken about the divorce before. Adam had never been with another woman since Helen and, although he was too pig-headed to admit it, he missed Helen desperately.

  “There is Paul, definitely, I miss your mother, I will admit. Let’s see what happens, shall we?” Adam answered.

  On the way back to the flat, they called into Blockbusters for a video to watch that evening.

  While Paul was looking at the latest releases, Adam wandered over to the war section, looking for something about the Korean War. Just as he thought, there was a huge selection on the Vietnam War but nothing about the Korean one. Paul made his selection and Adam paid the rental fee.

  On arriving at the flat, Paul set up the video, while Adam got himself a cold beer from the refrigerator. They both made themselves comfortable of the sofa to watch the movie, The Mummy. However, within minutes and with his beer half-finished in his hand, Adam was soon sound asleep.

  When he awoke, it was after midnight and Paul was fast asleep in his bed. Adam finished his beer, which Paul had placed on the coffee table, and he too went to his bed.

  The following day was a chill-out day. They watched television and played games together on the Play Station until it was time to take Paul back to Helen’s. This was a time that Adam hated, but he knew that he would be home again next weekend and that they would be able to spend more time together then; in the meantime, he was determined to unravel the mystery of the disappearance of uncle Joe Watts.

  Changwon, South Korea

  March 2000

  Adam arrived late in Changwon and checked into the same hotel he had used for the previous three months. The receptionist recognised Adam immediately,

  “Good evening Mr Evans,” she said. “We weren’t expecting you back so soon!”

  “I didn’t expect to be coming back, but something has come up on a personal issue that needs my attention. I should only be staying for two or three nights.”

  “Very good, Mr Evans, your old room is available. I’ll put you in there,” the receptionist added.

  “That will be fine, thank you,” Adam replied.

  After the receptionist had taken Adam’s credit card and passport details she gave Adam his room key.

  “Here you are, Mr Evans. Have a nice evening,” she said.

  “Thank you,” Adam said again.

  Adam took the key and walked to the lifts that would take him to the fifth floor and his room. After unpacking his over-night bag, Adam took the photograph he had borrowed from his mother, “I wonder if it’s you in that photograph, Uncle Joe. I wonder!” Adam whispered to himself.

  As he didn’t have a telephone number for either Jin or Mr Lim, Adam decided that tomorrow morning he would call on Mr Lim directly.

  In the morning, Adam showered, took a leisurely breakfast and walked the short distance to Mr Lim’s apartment. He took the lift to Mr Lim’s apartment and rang the door-bell. After a few moments, Mrs Lim opened the door.

  “Adam, please come in. This is a surprise.” She ushered Adam into the living area.

  “Thank you, Mrs Lim. Is your husband here?” Adam asked.

  Just as he finished speaking Mr Lim appeared from the kitchen.

  “Hello, Adam,” he said.

  “Hello, Mr Lim. You don’t seem surprised to see me!” Adam stated.

  “No, Adam, that’s true. We thought it likely you would return, but not quite so soon. I imagine that you have some more questions that you would like answering,” Mr Lim replied. There was a hint of an accent that Adam had previously been unable to put his finger on, but now it was clear – it was a London cockney.

  “Yes, there is, but first, could I look again at the photograph you showed me from the Korean War,” Adam asked.

  “Yes, of course, Adam, come with me.” Mr Lim led Adam into the bedroom with the many photographs on the wall. Adam then took the photograph of his mother, father and Joe, from his wallet. He held it up to the photograph of Jackie Gee, Mr Lim and Mrs Lim,

  “This is not Jacky Gee, Mr Lim. This is my uncle, Joseph Watts!” Adam declared. He handed the photograph to Mr Lim. “These three people are my mother, my father and my mother’s brother, Joe ‘Woodbine’ Watts. The photograph was taken in December 1949. The following day, Joe Watts disappeared. None of my family has had any news of him in fifty years. Please, Mr Lim, tell what else you know?” Adam pleaded.

  “Come and sit down in the lounge, Adam. As you know, I cannot stand too long. I will tell you what I know,” Mr Lim replied as he turned and walked slowly to the living area. They both sat down on the easy chairs and Mrs Lim brought some green tea and biscuits on a tray.

  “First, Adam, I apologise for not telling you everything, but we, my wife and I, have kept this secret for almost fifty years. Joe told us his secret on his deathbed and we have not told a single person, except you.”

  “So Joe is dead?” Adam asked looking for clarification.

  “Yes, Adam! Joe is dead, but please let me continue,” Mr Lim said.

  “I’m sorry, please, do go on,” Adam added as he took a sip of green tea.

  “There were more than one thousand British troops unaccounted for after the Korean War. Most were killed or captured by the Chinese. Those that were captured were often tortured. Jackie Gee, or Joe Watts, was not one of these. Joe Watts chose to just disappear.”

  “So he was ‘AWOL’,” Adam put in.

  “Not exactly, Adam. ‘AWOL’ means absent without leave, but without the intention to desert. Jackie Gee had no intention of going back. This was desertion. In the eyes of the British Army, this was far more serious misconduct than absence without leave.”

  “But why did he change his name to Jacky Gee,” Adam asked.

  Mr Lim then told Adam what he knew about the jewellery theft in London in 1949.

  London

  December 1949

  Joe was relaxing on his single bed in his small, but cheap, rented room, in Soho. He was thinking about Maria.

  He had been reading the morning newspapers, which were now spread out on the bed, and was smoking a cigarette. He had been studying the newspapers every day since the jewellery theft two days before and was puzzled as to why there had been no mention of the theft in any of the newspapers or on the ‘wireless’ that he was listening to and that was now playing an old Vera Lynn number.

  He was startled by a loud banging on his door.

  “Who’s there?” he called.

  He was immediately off the bed, stubbed out the cigarette and began pulling on his shoes. He had been waiting for this visit from the ‘Old Bill’.

  “Joe Watts? Our guvnor wants a word with you!” the voice from the other side of the door yelled. “Now open the bleeding door!”

  “Just a minute. I’ll put some clothes on,” he called back.

  Joe was fully dressed but needed a few extra minutes to make good his escape. Swiftly he pulled on his jacket, g
rabbed the small suitcase from a chair near the window, scrambling through it and onto the cast iron fire escape that ran conveniently outside his window.

  He was halfway down the rickety old construction when he heard a loud crash as his impatient visitors barged the door off its hinges. Joe was already on the ground and running along the narrow access lane that ran behind the house where he had a room when the thugs appeared at the window. They didn’t bother to give chase.

  “You can run, Joe, but we’ll get you,” shouted one of the men from the open window. Joe stopped running when he was two streets away, confident that the hoodlums were not following him. He walked into a small café and sat down at a table which had an un-obscured view of the street. A buxom middle-aged waitress came to his table for his order.

  “What’ll it be, handsome?” she asked.

  “Just a coffee, luv,” Joe answered.

  “Anything else? Bacon and egg sandwich?” the waitress persisted.

  “No, that’s all,” Joe answered as he nervously scanned the street.

  Who were those thugs? he thought. He was expecting the police but these were not the old bill. What’s going on? Why had there been no report of a jewellery theft? Why had the old bill not been around to Jackie Gee’s gaff? After all, the woman had eyeballed him! There was something funny going, but Joe couldn’t put his finger on it.

  Two further cups of coffee later and Joe was still none the wiser. He decided to go and visit Jackie.

  He set off for The Balaclava, Bethnal Green, the pub where Ellie worked. He didn’t know where she lived, even though he had had a brief relationship with her some years before and it was Joe who’d introduced Jackie to Ellie.

  The bar was full when Joe arrived. Ellie was busy pulling pints but Joe managed to attract her attention.

  “Can I have a word, Ellie?” Joe mouthed across the crowded bar.

  “Five minutes,” she mouthed back and pointed to the entrance to the toilets. Joe nodded and headed towards the door that led to both the ladies and gents toilets. He used the gents while he was waiting, emptying his bladder of all the coffee he’d consumed. He was just leaving the gents as Ellie arrived.