“Well those French flyers certainly do themselves proud, you wouldn’t believe how good the food was on Thursday night, I know you don’t think much to French cuisine Uncle but it was almost orgasmic, if you pardon my expression”. “The best news of the evening was that they have received a shipment of the new Nieuport 11 Scouts and St Proud has said that he is sure he can let us have some of the Morane monoplanes they are making obsolete”. They seem to have a better way of doing things in the French Air Service, he intimated that his HQ don’t quite know how many planes he has and so won’t miss a few that don’t get sent back”. Major Kyte had a far away expression in his eyes when he thought about how he would change the current RFC organisation if he was in charge.
He continued “He’s also said he’s happy with the arrangement for us to have Rory MacNair and Henry De Lacy stay on here as Liaison Officers.
Rory and Henry
So that’s the good news but I’m worried about C Flight, what do you think Uncle”
There was a short silence as Uncle adjusted to the change in tone of the conversation “Umm, I know what you mean, their results have been good over the last couple of weeks they’ve knocked down quite a few Huns, but there is a problem with the morale or maybe it’s just they don’t seem to have enough of a team spirit unlike A and B Flights, I’m not sure I can quite put my finger on it”.
This conversation was taking place in the CO’s office away from prying ears but I guess if you’d asked anyone in the Squadron they would have expressed similar thoughts, even the boys from C Flight.
Drummond and Lawless
Drummond the Flight Commander was being eaten up with the thought that he’d left his observer Frank Lawless behind when they’d been shot down attacking the balloons 4 weeks ago. There was no way that he could have carried Frank back through the lines, but that didn’t make it any easier to live with. The Germans had informed them that Lawless had survived and was in a German Field Hospital prior to being shipped off to a prisoner of war camp. Drummond and Lawless had flown together for quite a long time, at least how time was measured in an RFC Squadron in 1915/16, they had discussed between them what would happen if they were shot down and where they might go if they were able to escape from captivity.
They had talked of making it to Mossyman Woods, there was a big field next to the woods, maybe a determined pilot could land and pick up a passenger. They had even talked of how they would be able to signal their arrival at the wood.
Drummond had taken to flying over the place every chance he got and in leading C Flight he seemed to be in more of a dream world. Unfortunately his pilots thought so too. They had been looking to Rory MacNair more and more for guidance and advice, this wasn’t a good thing as Rory was only there as a Liaison Officer with the French Squadron to the south of them, St Proud’s squadron to be precise.
Jack Cowan
“I think Drummond will snap out of it soon enough but it’s Observer Jack Cowan who really worries me” said Uncle “He’s lost 5 pilots in the last 2 months, I know he hated Jimmy Little, his last one but he’s formed a strong attachment to that daft young lad Vagabond, with his romantic notions and suit of armour. When Cowan was wounded and unable to accompany Vagabond on that last mission you know, where Vagabond nearly didn’t make it back and ended up in the hospital, I think he blames himself for all their deaths and this injury to Vagabond might actually be the final straw for him, tipping him over the edge”.
“I don’t know if you have the time to look through the boys records properly before they join us but I had a good look at Cowan’s, did you know he can fly?” the C.O. remarked. Uncle was taken aback by this, “Why isn’t he a pilot then” was the immediate response. “Well it appears when he volunteered his Recruiting Officer didn’t like Colonials and he’s from South Africa originally”. “He told him if he wanted to fly he should be a bird or become an observer, he went for the later option”.
Just then there was the roar of an aero engine opening up and taking off, they both looked at their watches at the same time, thinking, C Flight wasn’t due to take off for another 30 minutes. “I’ll go and check” said Uncle, he was back quickly and looking flustered as well as annoyed.
“That was a BE2, I checked with the ground crew and they are giving me that dumb look they use when they don’t want to tell the truth. It appears that a Pilot, muffled up so they don’t know which one!!!! has just taken a BE2 with no Observer and a full bomb load off over the lines. They did say that they thought he was going to attack Sternman Field, you know where we’ve had reports of an old German 2 seat plane sitting there, obviously a trap even a child would recognise it, the pilot must be mad or have a death wish.”
“Who the hell is the pilot, I’ll have his guts for garters” muttered the CO. “OK get C flight in the air, in view of this latest missive from our Lords and Masters at HQ we need to get an escort up with any bombing mission, tell them to escort the damn fool back here”. “We’ll sort out the rest of the mess when they land”
Drummond was briefing his Flight when Uncle arrived, hot and flustered, even though it was a cold January day with still a touch of frost on the ground.
Berry and O’Flynn
He quickly explained that the training flight that Drummond had planned, to familiarise Flight Sergeants ‘Bouncer’ Berry and Liam O’Flynn with the terrain between the Drome and the front lines would have to be abandoned. Berry had visited the lines before but having chased after an enemy Observation Plane and loosing it, had returned to base by the pretty route i.e. he got lost.
He had to stop at 9 Squadrons field to refuel and ask for directions home, this hadn’t endeared him to Major Kyte who was ignoring the resulting jibes from 9 as best he could.
So about 15 minutes after the BE2 left, C Flight followed, they were all flying French Moranes, courtesy of St Proud. 5 Minutes later one was returning, it’s engine spluttering and coughing, oh bugger thought Uncle, that’s Drummond, I’ve got two inexperienced pilots going over the front lines for the first time into certain danger, I’d better go and start my letters home, and with a sad expression on his face he turned for the hut that he called the Squadron Office.
Two hours later Drummond and Uncle were sat outside the Squadron Office facing East, peering up into the cloudless January sky searching vainly for any sight of the returning C Flight planes to no avail. “I should have been with them” Drummond muttered to know one in particular". “Your engine was spluttering like the Devil with a mouthful of Angels” Uncle quietly rebuked him “We can’t baby sit these young men, they have to learn what this air fighting is all about”
Just then the CO emerged from his Office looking grave. “I’m afraid that I’ve just had a call from the front, it seems as if 3 of our planes, 2 monoplanes and a biplane have been shot down over the front lines. They were jumped by at least 3 Eindekers, all of enemy planes flew back off towards Hunland, it looks like we were right about the Sternman Field being a trap.” I’ll let you know if and when I hear any more news but I don’t think our boys will be coming back to night, you’d both better stand down”
Oh one last thing, when I received the call from Bob Dewhurst telling me about our pilots he said the damnedest thing had happened in that sector, the 2nd Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry had attacked the German lines, apparently without orders. They took about 500 yds of the German trenches before the counter attacks drove them back. It seems like the men just made a spontaneous decision and went for the enemy. They are trying to decide if they should hand out medals or disciplinary action. My money’s on Decorations, we need some fire and initiative in our troops , things are looking very bleak at the moment and this is just the ticket.
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