War Brothers

by Patrick Slaney

  ‘The Major said that you wanted to talk to me about something, but he didn’t tell me what it was about.’

  ‘It’s a long story, but I have been asked to go back to Europe and work for the British as a spy, finding out about the jet engined fighters that are being developed for the Luftwaffe. They say that I owe it to the memory of my brother.’ I explained.

  ‘How can I help you in your decision,’ my father inquired, defensively.

  ‘Well you fought for Germany in the First World War and then stayed in England when you were released from the POW camp. Why did you do that?’

  ‘I was luckily captured by some English Tommies, and I found them to be extremely fair. They were only fighting because Germany had created a situation where they had to defend themselves. Despite the horrors that the army was enduring I was treated like a human being and given respect, even as a prisoner. On top of all that, life in Germany was impossible after being defeated and German ended up fighting German in all the towns right across the country. I wanted a better life, and I got it in England.’

  ‘I am starting to realise the same thing Dad. If I had been captured in Germany, I would probably be dead by now. All the people here have treated me fairly.’

  ‘So what are you going to do Markus?’ he asked me, looking into my eyes.

  ‘When Chris visited me in Germany before the war and when I came here to see you and Chris, I began to realise the level of indoctrination that I had been subjected to in the Hitler Youth. Chris was a lot freer and had a much better life here. I started to have doubts.’

  ‘But becoming a spy is a gigantic step Markus; are you sure that you will be able to cope?’ I had never seen my father look so serious. .

  ‘I feel that if Chris was still alive, he would want me to go and get the information on the jet engines and the new fighter, and give it to the RAF. He would like me to do anything that would help defeat Germany. I have decided to do it for Chris and not for myself because I am still totally confused.’

  My father stood up and came around the table, and I got up top meet him. He took me into his arms, and I wept on his shoulder for quite some time.

  Seeing that we had finished talking the army sergeant, who had been keeping an eye on us, came in and let my father out. He then told me that he was going off to get the Major who came into the room a few minutes later.

  ‘Well, have you made up your mind what you are going to do?’ he asked me.

  ‘I have decided to go along with your request, but I want to you know that it is for my brother Chris and for no other reason.’

  ‘I appreciate how difficult it must have been to come to your decision, but I am extremely thankful that you have agreed to help us.’

  I was mentally drained. I had just taken the hardest decision of my life. In the battle that had gone on inside my head, two forces had been fighting for control of my life:

  I had been brought up in the belief that Germany had been wronged and that I must join with my fellow countrymen, to fight against the enemies who were trying to control and destroy Germany. I had discovered that I had a father and a twin brother who lived in one of the countries considered an enemy of Germany and, therefore, an enemy of mine. My love for my brother had triumphed, and I had to change sides because of what I had done to him. I could never bring him back to life, but I could make him proud of me.

  ‘What happens now?’ I asked the Major.

  ‘You will relocate to another house in Surrey where you will undergo extensive training and be fully briefed on your new role. You will of course also be released from custody and will be free to move around as you please. It is vital that you stay within confines of the house you will be moving to. We don’t want any chance of you being spotted and identified by someone you might casually meet, prior to you arriving back in France.’

  ‘I would appreciate getting some more clothes as I only have the ones that I was wearing when I was picked up.’

  ‘We’ll sort all that out for you when we get to Surrey. We will leave from Harrogate train station first thing tomorrow morning, so if you like you can go and stay with your father this evening. Perhaps you can get some clothes and a bag from him. I asked your father to wait outside for you as I thought that you would like to go with him. Welcome aboard.’ He took his pipe out of his right hand and shook my hand, sealing the deal. What a difference to what I was used to back home; the Heil Hitlers and the clicking of heels.

  Chapter 21

  ‘Dad, do you think that I am doing the right thing,’ I asked my father. We were sitting in the back of a khaki coloured car that had been assigned to take us to the bakery in Harrogate.

  ‘In war it is very difficult to know what the right thing is Markus. You are living in an age where your choices are limited because of the war going on around you. You have been flying in the Luftwaffe, and, if you were still in your squadron, would probably be fighting against the Russians on the Eastern Front. By all accounts, the losses are horrendous, and you probably would be dead by now. You, in fact, are fortunate that you were shot down over Kent.’

  ‘But I can’t get rid of a feeling of guilt for changing sides and agreeing to work for the British,’ I replied.

  ‘If it wasn’t for the fact that you feel responsible for Chris’s death, would you have agreed to change sides?’

  ‘That certainly is a factor, but I was already questioning whether Hitler was right in what he was saying and I don’t agree with where Germany is heading. Living in a police dictatorship is not particularly pleasant and the Nazi party rules by fear. If you don’t do what you are told, they simply shoot you.’

  ‘Anyway now you have made your decision, so your days of choosing are over. Don’t forget that you can pull out at any time Markus, although the alternative is to be shipped to Canada to an internment camp where you will be held for as long as the war lasts.’

  ‘I am doing it for Chris, Dad, and I won’t back out of what I have committed to, no matter what happens.’

  ‘I am tremendously proud of you and the decision that you have taken. I hate this war just as much as the last World War which I was actively involved in. Families are being destroyed by it.’

  ‘Thanks Dad, I hope that I continue to make you proud.’

  We continued to talk after we got back to the house, and it was quite late when I finally got to bed. Before I lay down, I went through Chris’s clothes and managed to find a few that fitted me and looked reasonable. I packed these away into a small suitcase that my father managed to find in the attic.

  I was woken at 5:00 am. I dressed, breakfasted and went to the station to meet Major Richards. My Dad had the baking to do, to stock the shelves ready for the customers, so he couldn’t come to the station to see me off. We had a very tearful embrace before I left.

  Major Richards had bought the tickets, and we boarded the 6:50 am train to London. Thankfully we were travelling in a first class carriage, and there was less chance of people asking me questions. The only problem I had to put up with was the smell of tobacco smoke from the Major’s pipe.

  ‘Any early morning regrets, Markus?’ the Major asked me.

  ‘Not yet. I haven’t fully woken up yet.’ I smiled.

  ‘Did you have a late night then?’ he added.

  ‘Yes, I was talking to my father well into the night and, afterwards, I had to sort through Chris’s clothes.’

  ‘We have a three hour journey ahead of us so you can have a nap if you like. I promise not to talk to you and disturb you’

  It wasn’t long before my eyes closed, and I slept most of the way to London.

  We took the underground from Kings Cross to Victoria station and then caught an overland train to Witley in Surrey. Major Richards informed me that the estate that I would be billeted at was only five minutes’ drive from Witley station. />
  As soon as the train arrived and we descended to the platform, the Major went into the ticket office, to make a phone call to his office to let them know that we had arrived and needed transport. Ten minutes later an army vehicle arrived to pick us up.

  I had never seen anything like the house that we arrived at. It wasn’t a house it was a mansion.

  Security was extremely tight, and we had to pass through two security check points before we pulled up at the main entrance.

  ‘Welcome to Witley Park, Markus. This is where you will spend the next few months of your life,’ Major Richards said as we got out of the car.

  I looked in awe at the magnificent edifice and the surrounding grounds. About fifty meters away, in front of the house, there was an artificial lake with castellated buildings surrounding it.

  ‘There is a ballroom under the largest of the lakes,’ Major Richards commented. ‘It was constructed in the late nineteenth century when the house was built.’

  ‘Will I be able to have a look at it, Major?’

  ‘Yes you will be able to go anywhere on the grounds in your free time.’

  The army driver grabbed my suitcase out of the boot of the car, and we went through the entrance door into the hallway.

  ‘He is in room B4 Corporal Kane,’ the Major told the driver. ‘Come back down Markus in half an hour and I will introduce you to the others. The Corporal will show you to your room.’

  ‘Thank you Major I will see you in thirty minutes.’

  We went up the stairs and along a corridor towards the right hand side of the building. The Corporal stopped outside room B4.

  ‘This is it Sir,’ he offered. ‘If you like to go in, I will follow with your case.’

  I opened the door and entered the room. I got a surprise as there was a middle aged man lounging back on a bed close to the window.

  ‘Oh I am sorry, I would have knocked if I knew you were in here,’ I stuttered out.

  ‘You must be Flight Lieutenant Becker; I was told that you were coming. My name is Captain Vic Biddlecome,’ he said, getting up off his bed and coming towards me.

  I took his outstretched hand and shook it.

  ‘Please call me Markus, Vic. It looks as if we are going to be roommates.’

  ‘I’ll leave you now Sir if there is nothing else,’ the Corporal said, obviously uncomfortable in the presence of officers. He left the room closing the door behind him.

  I hadn’t expected to have to share a room, but, in fact, it was quite a welcome development as I had been on my own for over a month and it would be nice to have someone to talk to. It was only a welcome development, provided of course that we got on together.

  I put away the few clothes that I had brought with me and chatted to Vic until it was time to go downstairs to meet the others.

  There were only five of us in total and that included Major Richards and his commanding officer Colonel Trevor Thorpe. The only person undergoing training, other than Vic and I, was a naval officer called Captain Brian Wilkinson.

  Major Richards did the introductions before we grabbed a plate each and helped ourselves from the buffet.

  I sat down at the large dining table beside the naval Captain.

  ‘Welcome to our school Markus, we will probably get to know each other very well over the training period as there are only three trainees here at the moment.’

  ‘Have you been here long, Brian?’

  ‘I came here just over two months ago, so I have been here about nine weeks,’ he replied.

  ‘Do you know how long the rest of your training is going to take?’

  ‘No, I haven’t been given a finishing date. They have told me that I will have to remain here until I have no weaknesses and am fully trained. They have also said that I can only leave here when conditions for the mission I am being trained for are perfect.’

  ‘Are you allowed to tell me what mission you are preparing for?’ I asked, not expecting a positive answer.

  ‘No, I can’t tell you anything other than my name and the same will apply to you. There were three other guys here up to two days ago, and then they left on a mission. I have no idea where they went or what they were going to do. All I can tell you is that everybody who passes through this house is going to operate in enemy territory’

  ‘It all seems very strange to me as I am not used to this level of secrecy.’ I applied myself to eating my lunch and not asking any further questions.

  On his way out of the dining room, Major Richards came over to me.

  ‘Will you join Colonel Thorpe and I in his office at 2.00pm please Markus?’

  ‘Yes Sir. I’ll see you then.’ I wasn’t looking forward to an afternoon of tobacco smoke

  At 2:00 sharp I knocked on the door of the room I had been told was Colonel Thorpe’s office.

  ‘Come in Lieutenant,’ a voice called out.

  When I entered I found the Colonel and the Major seated at a round table that had four chairs around it. To my great relief the Major wasn’t smoking his pipe.

  ‘Take a seat with us here Markus,’ the Colonel instructed.

  I sat down on the opposite side of the table.

  ‘Are you settled into your room?’

  ‘Yes, I have unpacked and everything is fine,’ I replied.

  ‘Wherever possible we try and pair you up with another trainee, and there is a reason for this. It is essential that you never tell anybody about any aspect of the mission that you will be undertaking. Vic will never tell you about what he is up to, and, if he does, you must report the fact to us immediately. In the same way if you disclose anything to Vic he has been instructed to report back to us.’

  ‘Are we put together because you want us to spy on each other?’ I inquired, rather alarmed at what they were suggesting.

  ‘In a way yes, but the main reason is to teach you the importance of secrecy. One casual word said out of place could mean you blow your cover resulting in your capture and death.’

  ‘I understand now what you are telling me,’ I replied, better appreciating the hazardous role I was about to be trained for.

  I spent another two hours with them. They outlined the training programme I would have to go through and the rules applicable to a trainee in the house. They also told me that if I needed to speak to them or had any problems that I should make an appointment with their admin assistant Corporal Elizabeth Walters who was to be found in an office next door to the Colonel’s.

  It was a much wiser and mature Markus that left the office and re-joined Vic in room B4.

  Chapter 22

  The following day my training started.

  All the trainees were woken up at 6:30 am and immediately got stuck into a work out under a fearsome physical training instructor. This lasted an hour and a half. Showered and shaved we then went for breakfast at 9:00. Colonel Thorpe and Major Richards gave us a rest from their presence at breakfast, so there were just the three of us.

  The mornings we spent together being trained in general skills that applied to everyone, such as using a radio, communication skills and living off the land if we had to make our way back to England through Spain or Switzerland. The afternoons, for the most part, were spent learning about our individual projects. The weekends they gave us off to revise what we had learnt during the week as the first thing that they did on Monday morning was to test us on what we had covered the previous week. They didn’t expect just fifty or sixty percent, they expected us to achieve in the high nineties and they kept the pressure on.

  The third day I was there I received an unpleasant surprise. I went up to my bedroom at lunchtime to hang my jacket up as the weather was getting quite warm. I opened my wardrobe, and as I was hanging it up, I noticed a piece of paper pinned to the back of the wardrobe with a knife. I pulled out t
he knife releasing the paper and read what had been written:

  GO HOME KRAUT BACK TO YOUR MURDERERS.

  WE DON’T NEED YOUR HELP.

  WE’LL GET YOU WHEN YOU ARE OUTSIDE.

  My heart sank to my boots. I was stunned. I thought that I was amongst friends, but clearly there was someone that was upset at me being there. It could be any of the support staff, although they had all seemed genuinely friendly when I encountered them around the house. I doubted very much if it could be the Colonel or the Major or even Vic. I folded the paper and stuck it in my back pocket.

  What did I do now? I would think about it over lunch and try and see if I could come up with an action plan.

  Lunch over I sought out Major Richards as he was the person that I knew the best.

  ‘Major Richards, can I talk to you about something?’ I leant towards him so as he would be the only person who heard my request.

  ‘You can come with me now as I have finished my lunch and was just leaving.’

  We left the dining room and went to his office on the ground floor.

  ‘What’s this all about Markus?’ He asked as soon as the door was shut and he had lit up.

  I took the piece of paper out of my back pocket and handed it to him.

  Having read the contents, he looked up at me.

  ‘When did you get this Markus?’

  ‘I found it on the back of my wardrobe just before lunch. It was pinned to the back with a knife.’

  ‘I need to get to the bottom of this immediately. The person who put this on your wardrobe could leak information about you to the outside world which would be a disaster. I will get the guards to seal off the house and grounds, and we will find the culprit this afternoon. Leave it with me.’

  He left his office at the same time as I did and knocked on the Colonel’s door as we passed. I went back upstairs to my bedroom.

  About five minutes later we were all called downstairs to the bigger of the two reception rooms, where the Colonel addressed us.