by Ellie Dean
‘Did you see them all taking off from Cliffe early this morning?’ she asked, after she’d commiserated with Gracie.
‘I certainly heard them. The racket they were making was enough to wake the dead, and Chloe was in a thoroughly bad mood during breakfast. I dread to think how she’s been with Nanny Pringle.’
Peggy chuckled. ‘Nanny Pringle is quite capable of dealing with tantrums, so I wouldn’t worry.’
She eagerly returned to the spectacular events of that early morning. ‘It was a tremendous show, bigger than ever,’ she said, ‘and made me feel so proud that I thought my heart would burst out of my chest.’ She smiled at her own foolishness. ‘The others came out to watch on the front doorstep and thought I’d lost my marbles, because I was jumping up and down and waving fit to beat the band. But they were a magnificent sight, Gracie, and I just couldn’t help it.’
‘I know, and I agree, it does make you burst with pride when they fly over in such huge numbers. But I always wonder if Clive is up there with them, and that sort of takes the shine off it.’
‘Have you heard from him lately?’ Peggy asked, at once concerned.
Gracie nodded. ‘I got a letter yesterday, but it sounds as if he’s exhausted, poor lamb. This endless bombing campaign and lack of leave is taking its toll on all of them.’
Peggy swallowed a sigh. ‘I know. Martin’s at the end of his tether, as are Freddy, Roger and Rita’s young Matthew. Cissy’s already had a scare over her Randolph, who’s now a POW, and Rita, Kitty and Charlotte are trying to put a brave face on things. But it’s a terrible worry with so many of them not coming back from these raids.’
‘That’s not something I can bear to think about,’ said Gracie. ‘If I did, I’d go quite mad with worry.’ She sipped her tea, and then changed the subject. ‘Did the dreadful Doris get her travel pass?’
Peggy clenched her teeth. ‘Yes, she damned well did. How, I have no idea, but I suspect a bribe was involved – that councillor’s known for being bent, and when I bumped into him the other day I let him know what I thought of him. It’s so unfair when Anne and the children were refused permission to travel home. It would have bucked up Martin’s spirits no end to have her here.’
Gracie gave a little shrug. ‘No doubt it would, but I got the feeling Anne was being pressured into it from what you’ve told me, and that doesn’t make for a happy homecoming.’
‘I agree,’ said Peggy, ‘and although she was only trying to do the right thing by Martin, I’m actually relieved she had no choice but to stay where she is. She’s safer there now Jerry’s bombing us again – and if this invasion into France ever comes off, it will probably get worse.’
They chattered some more about Anne, Gracie’s father and brothers who were all serving in one force or another, and the worry this brought her poor mother, who’d thrown herself into charity work to keep her mind busy on other things. ‘We all have to find our own way of coping, I suppose,’ said Gracie. ‘By the way, how are you getting on with Pauline? Is she still as miserable as a wet weekend?’
Peggy grimaced. ‘Her moods were affecting everyone, and there was enough tension in the house without her adding to it – so I had a stiff word with her last week.’ She gave a little sigh. ‘I was a bit harsh with her, to be honest, but she needed telling a few home truths – which of course she didn’t like – but it seems to have done the trick. She’s making a real effort to muck in when she stays overnight, and has begun to spring-clean her house in preparation for Frank’s return. I didn’t like reading her the riot act, but sometimes it’s the only way to get through to someone.’
Gracie’s hazel eyes warmed with affection. ‘I can’t imagine you getting cross, Peggy. You always seem so calm and gentle.’
Peggy grinned. ‘Appearances can be deceptive, Gracie. You should see me when Doris winds me up.’ She looked at her watch. ‘I’d better get home. Daisy will be tired and Fran is cooking tea again tonight, so I mustn’t be late.’
They picked up their little girls from the crèche, said goodnight with a swift hug, and went their separate ways – Gracie to her small flat behind the recreation ground, and Peggy to the peace and harmony that had been restored at Beach View.
41
Devon
Carol hadn’t seen Felix, Brendon or Frank since Churchill’s visit, and Herbert had only managed to get to the Welcome Inn for a couple of hours at the weekend to see Ida and return Carol’s precious photograph before he’d had to return to duty. There had been no backlash over the stolen binoculars, so they’d decided to keep them until the rehearsals came to an end and then sneak them back somehow.
It had been easy to see that the rehearsals were accelerating towards something very big, which looked as if it was imminent by all the activity that had been going on along the bay, and over the past week it had become a regular thing to trek up to the top of the hill once all their early chores were done. This Friday morning was no exception.
Carol stayed with Betty as the others went on ahead with Nipper, for although the plaster casts had been removed ten days before, Betty’s leg muscles were still quite weak, and this was the first time she’d attempted the steep climb.
‘Are you sure you don’t want some help?’ Carol asked anxiously.
‘I’m fine, really,’ Betty panted, pausing to lean on her walking stick and catch her breath. ‘Please don’t fuss, Carol. I need to do this on my own.’
‘I’m just worried you’re doing too much. The nurse said—’
‘I know what she said,’ Betty broke in, ‘but she doesn’t have a classful of children and a harassed headmistress waiting for her. The new term’s starting in four days’ time and I have to be fit and ready for it if I want to keep my job.’
Carol walked alongside her as she struggled to go the last few yards. She admired her tenacity, but there were times when Betty could be too stubborn for her own good, and she only had to stumble or fall and she’d back in the wheelchair again.
‘There,’ said Betty triumphantly some minutes later. ‘I told you I could do it.’
Nipper yapped and ran round her excitedly as the girls enthusiastically applauded. They helped her to lie down on the blanket they’d brought, and once she was settled, they turned eagerly back to the view along the bay where the morning’s rehearsal was in full swing.
There were six extra LSTs and more Motor Gun Boats and Motor Torpedo Boats involved now, while the two Royal Navy destroyers and the corvette kept watch out at sea. There was a lot going on down there, with mines being laid on different sections of the beach, including a wide arc to the side of the evacuated Royal Sands Hotel, and a high barrier of barbed wire closing off and protecting Torcross village.
LSTs were coming ashore at Blackpool Cove to offload fuel, supplies and heavy equipment, and the engineers were refining and improving the speed with which they could build the pontoon bridge over the Ley to the fields beneath Slapton village. Ships sailed in from Dartmouth, Salcombe and Portland Bill loaded with men and machinery as the artillery divisions secured the beachhead which was under fire from the batteries of guns in the hills and on the cliffs at Torpoint.
The five girls lay on their stomachs and watched it all through the binoculars until Jack appeared, looking very much out of sorts. ‘You’m got work to do,’ he grumbled. ‘There be no time to be watching Yank shenanigans.’
‘Just a few minutes more,’ pleaded Betty. ‘I’ve taken ages to get up here, and look, something different is happening down there today.’
Jack shielded his eyes from the low sun and peered down to the bay where the LSTs were loading the machinery back up again, and scores of GIs were being driven away in trucks. ‘They’m be pulling out,’ he muttered.
‘It certainly looks like it,’ said Carol. ‘Do you think all the rehearsing is over and that this is the start of the actual invasion, Jack?’
He shrugged. ‘Maybe,’ he said grudgingly, watching the LSTs, MTBs and MGBs load up with men and machi
nery and pull away to head round Torpoint.
They all turned and watched them until they’d gone out of sight around Start Point.
‘There are more trucks and jeeps leaving the camps down there,’ said Ida, ‘and they’ve taken down most of the flags too.’ She grinned at Maisie and gave her a nudge. ‘I reckon we’ll have front row seats up ’ere for the invasion if we can get the cows milked before it’s light. What you say, Jack?’
‘I reckon it’ll be quite a show if it really is an invasion,’ Jack agreed. ‘I’ll get the missus to pack up breakfast so we don’t miss nothing.’
As the last ship disappeared from view and the beach became deserted, the girls went down the hill, chattering with excitement over what they might see tomorrow – and how lucky they were to have an unobstructed view of the entire bay.
Felix had been invited to sit in on the meeting of the officers commanding the various battalions taking part in the week of increasingly larger rehearsals which would culminate over the next two days into a full-scale operation. He stood to return their salutes, and when the door closed behind them, he paced the room, his thoughts focused on the schedule that was about to unfold.
Operation Tiger involved 30,000 men, and the past six days had been spent marshalling troops and practising embarkation onto the landing craft. These landing craft were timed to leave port at different times and would begin deploying men from the 4th and 29th Infantry, 82nd Airborne, and 188th Field Artillery with their equipment through a mine-swept channel onto Slapton Sands. The first assault wave was due on the beach at 7:30 the following morning. The live barrage from the navy, and the men posing as enemy defenders on shore, would begin fifty minutes earlier while they were still at sea.
At midnight on the same day, a follow-up convoy of Landing Ships, Tanks would leave Dartmouth and Plymouth to assemble off Start Point. It would be escorted by the Royal Navy ships, HMS Azalea and Scimitar, while the lumbering HMS Saladin would remain in port unless there was an emergency. The LSTs would carry engineers, combat truck support, signalmen, medics and more infantry, as well as amphibious trucks, jeeps and heavy engineering equipment, fuel, ammunition and medical supplies – all to be landed from dawn in Blackpool Cove at the eastern end of the bay.
Convoy T4 would consist of eight LSTs, one of which would be towing the two pontoon causeways to bridge the Ley. They would proceed in a straight line at six knots with 700 yards’ interval between ships, and manoeuvre in a wide loop off Lyme Bay for the same amount of time it would take them to cross the Channel to France before deploying to shore. This was to get the men used to being below decks during a long sea voyage.
The bulk of Operation Tiger’s protection was many miles south of Lyme Bay, and had been in place throughout the rehearsals to safeguard against enemy attack and the reported presence of E-boats patrolling near Cherbourg. It consisted of the cruiser, USS Augusta, the new O-class destroyers, HMS Onslow and Obedient, as well as the Tribal-class destroyer, HMS Ashanti, with a covering force of Motor Torpedo Boats and two more LSTs. Radio communication from these ships to shore HQ would be maintained throughout.
Everything was timed to ensure a cohesive, smooth operation, but Felix and the other officers had repeatedly gone over the plans looking for flaws. They’d finally come to the conclusion that nothing could be guaranteed – especially during a wartime amphibious landing which had historically always proved difficult, if not impossible – but if the manure hit the fan, the troops and their naval escorts were hopefully experienced enough now to handle it.
Felix stared out of the window at the camps, which were virtually deserted now that most of the men had been sent to their action stations. The commanders wanted authenticity, and the exercise under sustained fire would certainly give the troops a real sense of what they might expect on the other side of the Channel, for up to now, the shooting had been sporadic and light, using dummy bullets.
He reached for the notes he’d made during the meeting, and found the list of the ten officers who had the highest level of security and an in-depth knowledge of Operation Overlord’s invasion plans. Committing their names and where they would be during the exercise to memory, he tore the notes into shreds, dropped them in an ashtray and set fire to them.
He waited until they were ash, and then glanced at his watch. It was almost seven o’clock, giving him plenty of time to get some chow and a good few hours of sleep before he drove up to the hills above Blackpool Bay to watch the operation in the comfort of his staff car.
He strode out of the building and headed for Herbert Cornwallis, who was standing by the jeep, gazing out to the calm bay where the dying sun dazzled points of light on the water that gently rolled onto the sand and gravel of the beach.
‘It looks peaceful, doesn’t it, sir?’ he said, watching the gulls drift overhead.
‘It’ll be a different story tomorrow morning, Herby,’ Felix replied, climbing into the jeep. ‘So you’d better find some earplugs.’ He settled into the seat, wrapping his greatcoat about him against the chill. ‘Do you have any messages for me?’
‘None, sir. Were you expecting something?’
Felix shook his head and hid his puzzlement. ‘Get me back to the billet, son. I’ve a feeling it’s going to be a very long, cold night.’
As the young military policeman drove past the numerous deserted camps and headed for the old manor house, Felix thought about the day to come with mixed emotions. Everything was set for a successful rehearsal, but no matter how thorough the plans were, things could still go wrong – and he could only pray that the harsh lessons of what had happened to the Canadian troops at Dieppe had been learnt.
Determined not to dwell on things he really had no control over, he switched his thoughts to Dolly. He’d heard nothing from her since that confrontation, and Carol hadn’t come up to the camp, so he had no idea whether Dolly had spoken to her or not. He didn’t even know if Dolly was still at the King George, for he’d been too occupied here to go and find out. If she’d broken her promise to talk to Carol then it would be up to him to break the news, and that really wasn’t something he was looking forward to. Having to face a tearful, bewildered young woman with such a stark truth would be far more difficult than anything else he’d done, and he was furious to think that Dolly might have walked away and left him to clear up her mess.
The narrow, winding lanes were empty now of the heavy machinery which had scarred or demolished the flint walls and left deep tracks in the once pristine fields. Eventually the jeep slithered to a halt outside the front door of the manor, and Felix climbed out. ‘I don’t need you or the jeep again tonight, Herby, so take the evening off until you have to report to your post.’
‘Thank you, sir. I would like to see my girl before the show tomorrow. Is there any message I can give Mrs Porter?’
‘Just send my regards and tell her I’ll see her when I can – and Herby, tomorrow’s exercise is not to be discussed with civilians, is that clear?’
‘My lips are sealed, sir.’
Felix made no comment, for he knew very well that Herbert had provided Carol and the others with those binoculars he’d seen glinting from the top of the hill. ‘It’s probably too late for secrecy, anyway,’ he conceded. ‘The civilians seem to know as much as we do, and have no doubt guessed that something big is in the air now the camps are empty.’
Felix regarded the younger man with some affection, for he reminded him a little of his son at that age, and he’d proven to be likeable, sharp-thinking and dependable. ‘Tomorrow’s a big day for all of us, son. Where will you be posted? In one of the foxholes?’
‘No, thank goodness – I find them claustrophobic. I shall be down at the Royal Sands Hotel to give covering overhead fire.’
Felix nodded and smiled. ‘You should be safe enough there. Just don’t stand on any of those darned mines.’
‘The field’s well marked, sir. The hotel itself is clear.’
‘Good luck, Herby. I’ll see you a
fter the show.’ He returned the younger man’s salute and went indoors to see what the cook had prepared for the evening meal.
Coombe Farm
Carol and the others were about to prepare for an early night, in the expectation of rising well before dawn to finish the milking. It was exciting to think that they would be at the forefront of an historic occasion that might finally bring this war to an end, and they doubted they’d be able to get to sleep at all.
The sound of a jeep pulling up outside the barn had Ida racing for the door, and as Herbert came in, she threw herself into his arms. Carol and the others exchanged amused and slightly embarrassed glances as the pair went into a clinch, and Nipper sat whining at their feet in puzzlement.
Ida finally withdrew from the embrace. ‘It ain’t that I’m not pleased to see yer,’ she said breathlessly, ‘but ain’t you supposed to be somewhere else like all the rest?’
‘I’ve only got three hours before I have to be back at my post, so I thought we might go for a bit of a drive into Kingsbridge.’
‘I’ll get me coat.’ She hurried to pull on another sweater over her trousers, jam her feet into boots and drag on coat, hat and scarf.
‘The general said he’d visit as soon as he can,’ Herbert told Carol. ‘He’s a bit busy, as you may have noticed.’
‘It’s all very thrilling, isn’t it?’ Carol said delightedly. ‘Just think, Herbert, this could really be the beginning of the end, and you’ll be playing a part in it.’
Herbert was about to reply when Ida grabbed his arm. ‘There,’ she breathed. ‘All ready for that draughty old jeep.’
