‘That might be nice, provided you of course go back to your room afterwards’
‘I promise, but it may be a few hours later.’ I smiled.
I finally struggled back to my room at around three o’clock in the morning feeling rather pleased with myself. I must be falling in love which was a singularly dangerous thing to do in my profession in the middle of a war.
Chapter 28
Monday morning Major Richards approached me while I was eating my breakfast.
‘Will you please join the Colonel and me in his office after you have finished your breakfast? Elizabeth will not be coming in today, so we don’t have to conceal what we are up to.’
‘Thank you Sir, I will be there at around 9:30 am.’
‘The same scene as usual greeted me when I knocked and entered the Colonel’s office. They were both seated on the other side of a round table waiting for me.
‘I gather that you have seen Boris and Elizabeth on two occasions at the pub,’ the Colonel commenced.
‘That’s right. I have had two conversations with them, and Boris asked me to supply him with information.’
‘Have you agreed to his request,’ the Colonel continued.
‘I told them that I didn’t have access to any information but that I would see what I could get.’
‘Good. Did they ask you about any particular agent?’ the Major asked.
‘They asked me if I could get any information on Francette.’
‘That’s very good and activates the next stage in our plan,’ the Major said looking extremely serious.
‘We will give you the information you need on Francette. It will be entirely fabricated of course, but will be good enough to take Boris in,’ the Colonel was taking charge.
‘I am seeing them tomorrow evening. Will you have the information ready by then?’
‘We have already worked out what we want to say so it won’t take us long to have it written down. You can then transpose it in your hand and bring your piece of paper to the meeting,’ the Colonel said.
‘If you give it to me by lunchtime tomorrow I will have it transposed in time for the meeting.’
‘OK Markus let us tell you what will happen then.’ The Colonel was particularly forceful.
‘It is essential that Boris is caught with the information on him,’ the Colonel went on. ‘As explained, you must re-write the information that we provide you with as it must be in your own hand. When you meet Boris it is essential that you give him the paper with the secret information. We will then arrest him as he leaves the pub, and we will also arrest Elizabeth as his accomplice.’
‘Do you want me to follow him out,’ I asked.
‘Absolutely not; if he makes a run for it, we may have to open fire, and we don’t want you caught in the cross fire.’ The Major emphasised.
It all seemed extremely simple, and my involvement was minimal, once I had handed over the information.
The following day I set off for the pub, “The Cat and Fiddle”, at 5:30 pm, feeling a lot more anxious than the previous times as this was the night they would be apprehended. Walking to the pub was the easy part, as I now knew the way and the hazards I had to avoid. When I went into the snug, to my immense relief, Boris and Elizabeth were sitting in their usual places.
‘Let me get you a drink Markus,’ Boris asked. ‘What would you like?’
‘A pint of Watney’s would do me fine thanks Boris.’
Boris went up to the bar and attracted the attention of the landlady and purchased my beer.
Back at the table he placed the pint in front of me.
‘How has it been for you Markus since we met last Saturday?’ Boris asked me.
‘Oh as busy as usual and as boring,’ I replied.
‘What movie did you see on Saturday night?’ Elizabeth asked.
‘An excellent one actually called “The Grapes of Wrath” with Henry Fonda staring. It was excellent.’
‘They also show you the Pathe News don’t they?’ she asked.
‘I don’t believe all that it shows us. It seems to be made up of a lot of propaganda showing victories by the allies over Germany and Italy. I’m sure that it’s a load of lies.’ I wanted Boris to believe that I was still on the side of the Germans.
‘That is the problem of living with the enemy. You are going to hear his side of the story,’ Boris added.
‘I have managed to get some information on Francette Tranquet for you. You seemed to be more interested in her situation than you were in the others, so I concentrated on her’
‘You’re a star Markus. Have you written it down for me?’
I took the piece of paper with the information on it out of my back pocket
‘Here it is. Make sure that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands otherwise I will be in trouble.’ I handed him the paper which he glanced at and then put into a pocket in the inside of his overcoat.
‘If it checks out I will bring you the money the next time that I see you. I should be back here on Thursday as usual.’
‘Boris we had better go, otherwise we are going to be late,’ Elizabeth chipped in.
‘Yes Beth, I know. I am finished here so we can go now.’
They both got up. Boris shook my hand, and they left the snug.
I remained, but I strained to hear any noise outside the pub. There was nothing beyond the crackle of the fire in the main bar and the murmur of the old men talking amongst themselves.
After ten minutes, my curiosity got the better of me, and I went out of the front door of the pub into the car park. The place was deserted, and there was no sign of Boris, Elizabeth, Major Richards or any police. What had happened? Had everything gone wrong at the last minute? At least the information that I had supplied was false, but there would be one seriously unhappy German out gunning for me.
I walked back to Witley Park feeling decidedly nervous and insecure. As I was finishing my dinner Major Richards came into the dining room with a big grin on his face. He came over to me and gave me a hefty slap on my back.
‘Well done Markus. That couldn’t have gone better. The two spies are locked up safely and can’t do any more harm.’
The news banished my anxiousness, and I started to feel elated just like the Major.
‘When I came out of the pub I saw nobody, so I assumed that they had got away. How did you do it so quietly and without any fuss?’
‘We jumped on them as they left the car park and were fifty yards from the entrance. It was a bit of a risk, but we needn’t have worried as they were taken totally by surprise.’
‘Well I didn’t hear a thing and assumed that it had all gone wrong. I assumed I was now a marked man.’
‘You don’t have to worry. Those two won’t be out for another ten years.’
‘I am so relieved and happy that it worked out so well’
‘Come on I will buy you a drink to celebrate,’ the Major suggested.
I had finished my meal, so we retired to the room that doubled as a bar and had our celebratory drink.
The following day the Colonel called all the trainee agents together and filled them in on what had been going on and how his secretary had been responsible for leaking information that had led to the death of Vic Biddlecome. He also spelt out what could have happened if it hadn’t been discovered that his secretary was giving key information to the enemy. He praised me for my role in the exposure and capture.
After the meeting Francette sidled up to me.
‘So that’s why you went to the pub Markus. It wasn’t another woman you were after.’ She smiled and poked me in the shoulder.
‘Well it was another woman, but not in the sense that you thought,’ I replied.
‘You are very brave to have volunteered as the bait.�
��
‘The thought of you being in danger unless I did something was all the motivating force that I needed. You can now leave safely on your mission.’
‘Oh, that’s sweet Markus. As a bonus for looking after me you can come to my room this evening.’
‘That’s the best offer that I have had all day Francette and the only reward that I need.’
‘You can supply the drink, and I will supply the room?’ She smiled.
‘Do you not think that we might spill it or do you plan on a quiet chat?’
‘A quiet chat might be agreeable, but a little “amour” might be better.’
‘I must get back to my work now. I’ll see you at lunch.’ I left and went to where I was studying some books on jet engines.
Chapter 29
Not much happened over Christmas 1940 as we were all confined to the house at Witley Park. We managed to get hold of some coloured paper and made Christmas decorations to take the bareness off the reception rooms. Francette was the creative one and her enthusiasm was infectious. I cut a branch off a fir tree that I found in the grounds of the estate and brought it in as our Christmas tree. Francette managed to make some trinkets to place on it; however, we didn’t have any lights or candles, so it looked a bit drab.
Over the festive period I thought of home a lot and what we used to do in Lubeck at Christmas:
Where would I be next year and would I even be alive? How many of my friends in the Luftwaffe were still alive and were they experiencing the horrendous Russian winter. Although I was feeling blue, at least I had heat and friends around me and of course I had Francette.
Once the training stopped for the few days surrounding Christmas, Francette and I, spent almost all our time together. I started not to bother to go to my own room, but spent the whole night with her. It took too much courage to get out of a nice warm bed at two or three in the morning and walk in the cold back to my room. I wrongly assumed that nobody in authority would object to our relationship as they knew that we were an item.
At breakfast on the 29th December Major Richards came over to talk to me.
‘The Colonel and I would like to see you in his office after breakfast Markus.’
My heart took an extra beat while I worked out in my mind why he wanted a special meeting. Perhaps he was going to give me instructions about the training I was going to receive at Power Jets. With some trepidation I knocked on the office door at 9:30 am.
On the instruction to ‘come in’, I entered the office to find the Colonel and the Major sitting in their usual chairs behind the round table. I sat down opposite them feeling like a guilty schoolboy.
‘We have an extremely delicate matter that we would like to discuss with you Markus.’ Colonel Thorpe started the conversation. ‘It has come to our notice that a strong relationship has developed between Francette Tranquet and you. Is that the case?’
‘Yes, we have become quite close over the past two months’
‘I think that quite close is a bit of an understatement Markus. I do know that you have been spending a lot of nights recently in her room and presumably in her bed,’ the Colonel continued.
‘We have not tried to hide the fact that we are sleeping together although we have tried to be discrete,’ I felt that I had to say something to defend myself.
‘I am responsible for your training and for the welfare and safety of all the agents that pass through Witley Park,’ the major said, looking extremely serious. ‘I feel that the affair between you and Francette is compromising your security. All your attention must be on your training and on the thought processes required for you to have a successful mission.’
‘This is a military training centre and the traditional disciplines expected at a military barracks are expected to operate,’ the Colonel added. ‘We are asking you to keep your relationship with Francette within certain boundaries that we can accept, and to sleep in your own room at night. Do you understand??’
‘I’m sorry that I have overstepped the boundaries. I was unaware that there were rules governing where I was allowed to sleep.’ I was genuinely apologetic for having broken the rules. Having been brought up in Germany I was well aware that one had to operate within strict rules
‘I want you to understand why we are you giving these orders. To obtain the skills you will need to succeed behind enemy lines, you will have to focus on your training 110% of the time, and have no distractions. Your success and safety is my responsibility. I will not allow you to be compromised.’ The Major tapped the table with his unlit pipe as he talked, emphasising his point.
‘I understand fully what you are telling me, and you have my word that it will stop immediately’
‘We will also be talking to Francette to let her know what we have said to you. We don’t have a problem in you spending time together at meal times and in the evening; however, we are banning you from her room at all times. Do you understand?’ The Colonel gave the final word.
I had gone into the meeting feeling like a naughty schoolboy and I left the meeting feeling even worse after my dressing down. At least they hadn’t used the Headmaster’s cane.
At lunch time Francette joined me at the dining table with her plate of food.
‘Markus, did you have a difficult meeting with the Colonel and Major this morning?’
‘Yes, and I gather from your question that you did too.’
‘I am very disappointed in what they have asked me to do. You coming to my room made this whole training thing bearable.’
‘I can understand why they have given us the order, but it is going to be extremely difficult knowing that you are sleeping just along the landing,’ I replied.
‘I don’t see what harm we were doing. We did all their stupid training during the day and on top of that they expect me to live like a nun. It’s not fair, and I told them that.’ The look on Francette’s face could have cut butter. She was obviously very upset.
‘They must know what they are doing, and they emphasised to me that it was for my own good. Anyway I am due to go off for two months to Power Jets at Lutterworth near Derby so I won’t be here anyway and you are due to leave in the near future on your mission’
‘Oh Markus, you are a typical German, no emotion. I want romance in my life before I go off to get killed on some crazy mission.’
‘Don’t be so dramatic Francette. When we both come back after our missions I will sweep you off your feet, and we can spend all day every day together and even all night.’ I smiled.
‘Perhaps I will make a romantic man out of you eventually.’ Francette punched me on the shoulder, and we both left the dining room to go to our rooms.
Matt was surprised to see me.
‘Why are you looking so glum Markus and I didn’t expect you back in our room as you normally go to Francette’s’
‘Let’s just say that I am under orders which forbid me to go to her room.’
Matt gave a big guffaw. ‘So lover boy has had his wings clipped by the top brass has he?’
‘Something like that. I will have to make do with your company now.’
‘I have missed your snoring and presence Markus. Welcome back.’
Chapter 30
Another year came to an end, and grimly the world moved into 1941. The war was still going on at many places around the world, and there was no indication that it would end in the foreseeable future. The winter weather enveloped Witley Park making all the occupants depressed and wanting to remain in 1940, a year that we knew and were safe in. The last thing any of us desired was to move into the New Year where so much danger awaited us in the missions that we were destined to carry out. I looked back to where I had been in January 1940 and the events that had overtaken me in the past year. I decided to take one month at a time in 1941 and do my best to survive.
I
had hoped, when I agreed to work for the British that the war would be over before I would see active service as an agent. There was no sign of the war ending, and it probably would go on for another few years. Hitler had transferred his armies and air force to Russia after Germany had been defeated at the Battle of Britain, leaving the UK in splendid isolation. There appeared to be a stalemate as Germany occupied most of Europe, except for the unyielding British who were still resisting and were protected from attack by their air force and navy. With the French army defeated, the British didn’t have the strength or resources to launch an offensive on their own and drive Germany out of Europe.
The next phase of my development as a secret agent was about to begin. I was being sent to a company called Power Jets where a brilliant engineer called Frank Whittle was developing a jet propulsion system. On my return to Europe in the spring, my mission would be to gather as much information as possible on the German jet engine programme, so to be effective, I would need to know all about jet engine propulsion. I had learnt a lot on the theory, but I now was being sent for two months, to work in the development process. I was hopeful that my three years studying engineering in Kiel would give me enough background knowledge for the task ahead.
On Monday 6th January I said my goodbyes at Witley Park and headed by train for London. Francette was not happy to see me go. With no date fixed for her to depart on her delayed mission, I was afraid that she would have left before I got back. We hugged hard and long before I left for the station.
My greatest fear in travelling on my own was being identified as a German if I had to speak for any reason. To avoid me having to buy tickets, they had issued me with a travel warrant.
Arriving in London I transferred by underground from Victoria station to Euston where I boarded a train to Rugby. I had been told that I would be met by an engineer from Power Jets.
On alighting from the train at Rugby, I spotted a man holding a sign with my name on it, “Lieutenant Becker”. I noticed that my name had been spelt the English way to avoid any problems with people reacting to a German name. I appreciated their thoughtfulness.
War Brothers Page 16
