A Diamond in the Rough

by Marilyn Land

  He could tell she was crying. “You probably can’t say where you’re going, so I won’t ask. I love you and miss you too. Take care of yourself; be safe; come back to me soon; I’ll be here waiting.”

  Their simultaneous “I love you!” ended the call.

  The very next day, Jake’s squadron moved to RAF Coltishall in Norfolk. The base became operational in May 1940 and was initially conceived as a bomber base. It was later pressed into service as a fighter airfield as battles in the air increased in intensity. The first to operate from the base was a Spitfire Squadron.

  At Coltishall, they were engaged in various exercises in preparation of joining the offensive operations over occupied Europe. They took part in their first Ramrod, escorting American Marauders to Paris and back. The operation took one hour and fifty minutes. They also took part in Rodeos—ground attack operations. These sorties were routed close to the enemy airfields along the coast of France aimed at catching enemy aircraft at a disadvantage in their landing or start circuit.

  In February, the Big Week heavy bomber offensive led by American Major General Jimmy Doolittle absolved earlier setbacks by winning air superiority in daylight. Doolittle’s implementation of major changes in fighter formations was credited with bolstering the confidence of the crews under his command. Until that time, allied bombers avoided contact with the Luftwaffe. Following the offensive’s success, they began using any method that would force the Luftwaffe into combat.

  British bombing was chiefly waged by night with large numbers of heavy bombers escorted by Spitfire and Hurricane Squadrons. Together they made up a round-the-clock bombing effort as the Allies looked toward Berlin and raiding the German capital. Their goal was to destroy as much of the German air force as possible, rendering them too weak to oppose the allied landings in France.

  In March, the Allies launched the first of several attacks against Berlin. Fierce battles raged and resulted in heavy losses for both sides; though the Allies lost 69 aircraft, the German Luftwaffe lost 160. The Allies replaced their losses; the Luftwaffe could not. The last week in March, the RAF made one last large raid on Berlin.

  Jake’s squadron, along with numerous others, took to the skies night after night laying the groundwork for the landing of troops in Europe.

  Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) moved from Norfolk House in central London, to Bushey Park, on the western outskirts of the capital. It had grown too large for Norfolk House, and Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower felt it necessary to move away from the distractions of London.

  As part of the Transportation Plan, allied forces began carrying out raids on the French railway network. This part of the plan aimed to reduce the Germans’ ability to use the French railways to transport troops and military supplies.

  At the start of April, a 10-mile strip along much of Britain’s coastline became a Restricted Zone. Civilians living outside the Zone were forbidden from entering it, and those inside could not leave.

  Marcus lost direct contact with Jake in January, as did Lexi. He searched for news in the papers every day, but grew to accept no news as good news.

  He had spoken with Lexi two or three times, having told her to ring him up whenever she felt the need to do so. Although it was generally easier for her to reach him, he assured her he would call immediately upon hearing any news whatsoever.

  Over and over in his mind, he returned to the last time they spoke. Her usual light and friendly voice appeared strained and brisk, not even inquiring how he was. She said she had written to Jake, but had not received an answer. Marcus had no idea how long it took those in the military to receive mail, and not knowing if Jake was even still in England, had no response.

  Before ending the call, she told him she was graduating in April: her oldest brother was getting married in May; and that although her father was back in England for her graduation and the wedding, his plans were to return to Jerusalem soon after; she added that he was urging her to go with him.

  For some reason, Marcus sensed that she hadn’t told her father about meeting up with Jake. He himself had not learned how it happened, but the fact that Jake made no mention of Lexi when they met for dinner at the Savoy, reinforced his belief that it had been just as much a chance meeting as his running into Tommy and Andy.

  This posed another question? Why wouldn’t she tell her father? He recalled Elise having made it a point to say when he delivered the letter that although they were young, she and her husband both liked and approved of Jake.

  May 1944 is a busy month. The date for D-Day is moved forward. Two periods in June are identified as suitable, based on the tides and the amount of moonlight: 5-7 June and 18-20 June.

  Exercise Fabius, the largest series of training exercises to date and the last before D-Day, begins at several sites along the coast of Southern England.

  On 15 May, the final briefing for allied senior officers takes place at St. Paul’s School, London. Both King George VI and Prime Minister Winston Churchill are in attendance.

  On 1 June, Eisenhower moves his Headquarters to Southwick House, just north of Portsmouth. England, veiled in secrecy, tightened security, and on guard, waits; and as She waits, a security scare emerges when, for the fifth time in a month, one of the D-Day code names appears as a crossword clue in the Daily Telegraph. It turns out to be a bizarre coincidence; a Surrey School Headmaster having compiled the crosswords months earlier.

  On 2 June, Jake and two of his pilots are called upon to fly escort for an unmarked aircraft headed to France in close proximity to the planned invasion. Although the chief allied weather forecaster predicts bad weather, their plans remain in tact.

  Under the cover of night, with low clouds, strong winds behind them, and rough seas below, the planes take off and reach their destination without incident. As the three Spits head home, they find themselves flying into the strong winds causing their planes to separate, becoming lost in the heavy clouds, and rendering them out of one another’s view. As he struggles to stabilize his aircraft, and remain on course back to the base, Jake finds himself in a tailspin.

  With no time to spare, he reaches for the lever opening the hatch. Almost immediately, the wind blows the canopy off, and as his Spit continues to spin out of control, Jake literally falls out of the plane. Pulling the ripcord on his parachute, he drifts downward into the dark, choppy waters of the English Channel, as he watches his beloved Spitfire dive into the water below.

  Only two of the three Spitfires return to Coltishall. Upon learning that Jake’s plane is not one of them, a quiet pall falls over his squadron who refuses to believe that their beloved Squadron Leader Jitterbug Jake is not alive—somewhere.

  By the time Marcus is notified that Jake is officially listed as missing, Lexi, who is five months pregnant, and her father have set sail on the long journey to Palestine.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Situated off the coast of France within the English Channel, the Channel Islands, although fiercely independent, are dependents of the British Crown. Considered remnants of the Duchy of Normandy and not part of the United Kingdom, the Islands include two separate bailiwicks—Guernsey and Jersey—each administered separately.

  Adolph Hitler’s ambition to invade Britain during World War II got no further than the Nazi occupation of the tiny Channel Islands off the coast of France. He viewed the Islands as a valuable landing stage for his invasion of mainland France, as Jersey lay just fifteen miles off the French coast. Guernsey was his ace in the hole; while 30 miles from the French coast, the Island lay just 70 miles south of the UK. Churchill was of the mindset that the Islands held no strategic importance for Britain and demilitarized them, leaving them undefended.

  Prior to the German army storming through France in June 1940, 30,000 Channel Islanders were evacuated, primarily children, teachers, and young men leaving to serve in the military. German reconn
aissance flights failed to reveal the British evacuation, and on 28 June, as Luftwaffe bombers struck the harbors of Guernsey and Jersey, they mistook lines of trucks at St. Peter Port for troop carriers. The trucks were actually lined up to unload tomatoes for shipment to England. Forty-four people were killed in the attack.

  It was not until two days later, when the Germans took control of the Guernsey airfield, that they learned the Islands were undefended. Telephone lines to England were disconnected immediately, as German forces moved quickly to consolidate their positions and firmly establish themselves. They stationed a substantial garrison of infantry troops and set up communications facilities and anti-aircraft defenses, rendering resistance by the Islanders almost impossible. Villages and towns were given German names; clocks were set to Central European time; and vehicles were switched to right lane driving on all roadways.

  Their wide range of strict regulations began with issuing Identity papers, requiring that they be carried at all times. All Jewish owned businesses were confiscated and turned over to non-Jews to run. Strict curfews were enforced. All vehicles and petrol were confiscated, forcing the Islanders to walk, ride bikes or travel on horses. All weapons and radios had to be turned in; occupation authorities took over the newspaper; and over 2,200 civilians who were Jewish or not native to the Islands were deported to Nazi internment camps.

  As time passed, resentment grew, and more and more Islanders opposed the Nazi occupation. The occupiers had taken control of the minimal media outlets—primarily newspapers and radio. This caused illegal news sheets to be printed and circulated. The most famous was the Guernsey Underground News Sheet (GUNS), copies of which were frequently thrown into the backs of Nazi cars or posted in the village squares.

  A series of aborted raids on Guernsey by British commandos were considered counter productive by the majority of Islanders who felt vulnerable to all sorts of reprisals these raids might bring. Most attempts to escape did not succeed. For every Islander who was successful, there were numerous others who were not. A number of youths drowned and many were arrested and sent to German concentration camps—never to return.

  Nevertheless, many Islanders successfully hid their radios or replaced them with homemade crystal sets, and continued listening to the BBC despite the risk of being discovered by the Germans or being informed on by neighbors. These hidden radios also allowed them to keep in touch with the young children evacuated to the British mainland, and to learn firsthand news about the War.

  At first, the German soldiers were an intriguing spectacle. Tall, blond, and handsome, and fortunate to be staying on a sun-drenched island, their time was often spent on the beaches and at swimming pools. Although the Islanders considered them the enemy, their Aryan good looks and debonair behavior continued to fascinate them.

  Women from all classes risked the wrath of their families and the majority of Islanders by becoming romantically involved with the young men. Inevitably this was to have devastating consequences—more than one-third of all recorded births on the Island of Guernsey alone were illegitimate.

  Jake’s parachute brought him down into the icy waters of the Channel causing a cold shock to overcome him and momentarily disorient him. Fighting to get his bearings, he did a cursory check of his surroundings. His observations indicated that the fierce winds and clouds he had struggled with in the upper altitudes were gone, and visibility was good. In the distance, he took the sprinkling of lights as an indication that land was close by.

  Shedding his parachute, he began swimming towards shore.

  On the far side of Guernsey, opposite of St. Peter Port, stood the largest dairy farm on the Island, wholly owned by the Walsh family; the majority of both agricultural and dairy farms on the Island were tenant farms. Bill, and his twin sisters Lulu and Lila, as the only surviving members of the Walsh family, ran the farm without outside help since the evacuation.

  British by birth to an English father and German mother in the UK, the Walsh siblings took over the farm upon the death of their grandfather. When the Germans came calling at the onset of the occupation, the German Commandant was quite impressed when Lulu spoke to him in fluent German, and he took an immediate liking to her. A liking that would leave the Walsh family virtually free of German restrictions imposed on the Island.

  In the four years since the occupation began, the Walsh Farm had remained the same as it had always been. Visits by German officials were virtually non-existent. The remote location and the long winding road leading to the farm kept it out of sight and out of mind.

  In the early hours of 3 June 1944, Bill found Jake unconscious on a grazing field not far from the water’s edge. Observing immediately that he was an RAF pilot, he moved quickly. Securing a small cart, he gently lifted Jake onto the bed and pulled it up to the house.

  Lulu and Lila were both in the kitchen when Bill came through the door urging them to help bring Jake into the house.

  Assessing his condition, they noted nothing appeared broken; he was unconscious, and their attempts to waken him brought no response. Lila had some nursing experience, and after taking his temperature, her initial thoughts were confirmed; he was experiencing hypothermia. They began at once—removing his wet clothing, wrapping him in blanket after blanket, filling hot water bottle after hot water bottle, and placing him on a cot in front of the fireplace, where although it was June, Bill started a fire.

  He remained unconscious for two days. On the third day, as Lulu sat at his side, Jake opened his eyes. “My, my, what beautiful blue eyes you have!”

  It evoked no response whatsoever as he took time to assess his surroundings. His eyes wandered about the unfamiliar room; he had no idea where he was; he had no idea how he came to be in the care of the person who had just spoken to him. However, the sound of a British voice seemed familiar to him.

  “Where am I? Who are you? What’s wrong with me?”

  Lulu was happy he had finally regained consciousness. “Whoa. Slow down, and I’ll answer all your questions, but I prefer to take them just one at a time.

  “You’re on Guernsey Island on a dairy farm owned and run by my family, and I am Lulu Walsh. Nothing is broken; we were just waiting for you to wake up.

  “Now I get to ask you a few questions. Who are you? Do you recall what happened or how you could have possibly come to our Island’s shores?”

  Jake could not. “I seem to be a bit confused. How did I get here to the farm?”

  Lulu hoped his memory loss was only temporary. “My brother Bill found you unconscious on a grazing field near the water’s edge of the Channel. When he brought you up to the house, you were experiencing hypothermia. My sister Lila, Bill, and I have been taking turns caring for you. When your temperature finally returned to normal last evening, we hoped that would be an indication that you would soon awaken. Now that you are awake, we have to get some food into you and build up your strength. Your memory will return soon enough.

  “When Bill found you, you were wearing the uniform of an RAF pilot and your dog tags prove that. Your surname is Lyons if that helps any. Now just rest a bit while I heat up some soup for you.”

  Lulu left the room as Jake struggled to remember—RAF pilot, the name Lyons, reaching instinctively for his dog tags which were not there—he suddenly recalled an icy cold engulfing his body and swimming towards lights. He recalled nothing before and now here he was learning what came after.

  Lulu returned with a large bowl of soup. She helped him up from the bed they had moved before the fireplace and guided him to a chair in the sitting area. Covering him with a blanket, she placed a small tray holding the soup on his lap. Jake ate hungrily and asked for more.

  Although she was pleased to see him eat, she didn’t want him to overdo. “I’m glad you like the soup; I made it myself with veggies all grown here on our farm; all of which we grow for our own consumption. Our farm is a dairy farm producing only dairy produ
cts for market.”

  It is 6 June, D-Day. After an air assault during the night, over 160,000 Allied troops land along the Normandy coast. Operation Overlord is the largest amphibious invasion of all time. D-Day marks the Anglo-American invasion of Europe, and continues for two days.

  As part of the invasion, the Allies decide to bypass the Channel Islands, prolonging the occupation. The Islands are amongst the most heavily fortified part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall; Germany has managed to turn them into an impregnable fortress.

  As a result of the invasion, German supply lines for food and medical supplies through France are completely severed. The Islanders’ food supplies having consistently dwindled for four years head towards an all time low.

  When Bill and Lila returned to the farm, Lulu told them their patient was awake, and introduced them to Jake. They decided to call him Lyons since his surname was the only name they learned from his dog tags, hoping it would trigger his memory to recall.

  Bill Walsh was a WWI veteran who considered himself fortunate to have recovered from a severe leg injury with only a slight limp. For four years of German occupation of the Channel Islands, he had bided his time, searching desperately for a way to aid the war effort on Britain’s behalf. Resistance had been passive mainly due to the separation of the Islands (21miles between Jersey and Guernsey), and the density of German troops, roughly one to every three civilians.

  A large barn housed the Guernsey cows that produced the dairy products for the Walsh Farm. The weather vane made by their grandfather sat atop a small room built atop the roof of the barn—the room from which one could survey the entire farm down to the grazing fields along the waters of the Channel. The room was accessible only by the release of a stairway that tucked up into the room when unoccupied.