The Sunderland was waiting for us in Falmouth. I wondered if it was the same one which had come to our aid. Probably. The Major and Lord Louis sat together and I sat next to Flag Lieutenant William Tree-Johnson. When we were airborne he asked, "What is it like? In action I mean. I know you have the MM, I checked your records. What is it like knowing you could be shot at any time or captured?"
"I don't know." He gave me a queer look. "No I am not being funny. You have no time to think and reflect you just react. Something happens and you try to do something so that the lads you lead don't die and the mission is successful. Then, when you are on your way home you wonder how in God's name you did what you did."
"I would love to take part in a raid."
"Show me your hands."
He held them out. "What have my hands got to do with it?"
"My hands were like that before I joined up in thirty nine. Look at mine now. They are gnarly and tough as leather. They have sunk daggers into men's throats and they have clung from cliffs. I am afraid that you would need Commando training and that is rigorous. You would need so much time and then you would need the experience. It is not for everybody. I have seen men who I thought would be perfect material for commandos and they have not made it."
"I could do that."
"And then lead men who will have forgotten more than you know about fighting. The Germans we fight are not always noble and honourable. I have seen the results of the work of the Waffen SS. They are nasty bastards. Stay where you are; that is my advice."
"But I just help his lordship."
"And from what I have seen his lordship might just make the difference in this war. I like him."
"He is inspirational. He is related to the King don't you know?"
"I did."
We sat in silence and then he said, "Is it true your father won the VC and was a fighter ace in the Great War?"
"He is fairly inspirational himself, yes.."
"God, what I would give to be a member of your family."
We did not land in London itself. There were too many barrage balloons but we landed instead, close to Essex where a car waited to whisk us into Central London. Lord Louis and Major Foster had spent a great deal of time talking close together. I wondered what this mission would entail. It seemed obvious to me that they were going over some of the details of the operation. As we headed into central London, a depressing sight these days as many beautiful buildings had been destroyed and everything appeared wrapped up like some sort of parcel, Lord Louis said, "Would you care to stay with me in my house, Lieutenant Harsker?"
"I believe you said my father was in town?"
"Yes he is."
"Then I shall stay with him. I haven't seen him since Christmas."
"Of course, how remiss of me. I should have realised. Well if you give the driver the address he will take you there when he has dropped us off and pick you up tomorrow at nine. I fear it will be your busy day. I am afraid you won't have the time to have a uniform made tomorrow; still the day after should be fine."
I knew I should have telephoned my father but I could gain entry by using the spare key. Even without that I was certain that, as a commando, I would be able to break in. As it turned out I did not need to do either. I rang the doorbell and he answered. He did not seem surprised to see me. "Ah Tom. Good to see you. The Admiral said he was going to see you. I thought you might drop in."
I dropped my Bergen in the hall. "Did he give you the news then?"
"News? I am not certain. He said he had a role for you, sounded all very hush hush."
"I have been promoted. I am a second lieutenant and I have my own unit."
It was a lovely moment for he was genuinely pleased. He hugged me. "Then tonight we celebrate and tomorrow I shall take you to my tailors and have you a uniform made."
"Sorry, Dad. Tomorrow I have meetings all day with the Admiral. Perhaps the day after?"
He nodded, "Good. Then we shall dine at my club. It is the only place in London these days where you can get a decent meal and the cellar is still excellent."
He was right and both the meal and the wine were excellent. However I still regretted not enjoying Mrs Bailey's stew. I hoped that Sergeant Major Dean had made my apologies. Once back in the flat Dad opened a good port and decanted it. "I had been saving this for a special occasion. This seems like one!"
Now that we were alone I told him of the St. Nazaire raid and the E-Boat. I saw him frown when I mentioned the 110s. "You were bloody lucky there, Tom. They are bloody useless against a Spit or a Hurricane but they are lethal against ground targets."
"There wasn't a great deal we could have done. You taught me never to give up but I thought we were dead in the water."
He nodded, "Never tell your mother I said that!"
I laughed, "Of course not! She is bad enough as it is."
"Be fair to her. It is harder sitting at home and worrying than being out there and enduring the danger."
"You are right."
"So what does Lord Louis have in mind for you?"
"We are going to use the E-boat to land us behind lines and create mayhem although the first mission, next month, appears to be something bigger than that. I shall find out tomorrow."
He nodded, "Are you happy with your team?"
"The commandos I know. They are my section and I picked them all. Four of them are young and new but they are good lads. The navy boys are an unknown quantity but I have yet to be let down by the Jacks."
"We will be involved too."
"So you knew about this?"
"No, Tom, Lord Louis wants more cooperation from the RAF and Coastal Command. I have been asked to expedite it. Some of the senior RAF officers are a bit too protective about their precious aeroplanes. They don't see we are all part of the same team. We have some good night fighters these days and we shall use those to provide air cover. I am pleased you told me what you did. I shall be able to give the pilots a clearer picture of what they have to do."
"So you will be directly involved?"
"No, I shall just set it up and brief them. Then it is back to North Africa for me. We are planning a push across the desert. Now that the Yanks are joining us we can go on the offensive a little more."
We talked until half the decanter was gone and I must have fallen asleep. When I awoke, at four o'clock, I was undressed on the sofa with a blanket over me.
Before I left the next morning, Dad gave me a key. "I might not be in when you return but we shall have dinner and tomorrow I will find some time to take you to my tailors."
The room in the Ministry had high security. Apart from the Admiral, his aide and the Major, there were four senior army officers and Lord Lovat. He looked out of place. He was more like a country gentleman and the formal surroundings seemed not to fit him.
"Gentlemen this is Lieutenant Harsker. He is vital to the plan I am putting in place. I will not insult you by swearing you to secrecy. All of you have been appointed by me. If I can't trust you... well." He stood and went to a map. He took a pointer. "This is Europe. Now that our cousins are joining us we can think about invading. I want a plan from you gentleman. By autumn I want to have landed an invasion force in Europe. We will not stay but I want us to go in and capture a port. The operation will be a way for us to learn what we can and can't do." I think I was the only one who was surprised. He continued. "Lord Lovat and Major Foster have already given me their ideas. I want some from you." He pointed to me. This young man will land with his men at the site we choose and reconnoitre the ground. This needs more than aerial photographs. This needs boots on the ground."
Lord Lovat's Scottish burr sounded as anachronistic as Lord Lovat himself as he said, "Rubber soled shoes, my lord."
"What?"
"My chaps don't wear boots. Too noisy. Rubber soled shoes!"
He laughed, "Well whatever the footwear Lieutenant Harsker will be our eyes on the target."
"How about Boulogne? It is a short hop over the Channel and our guns in Dover could support the attack."
"As Lieutenant Harsker can tell you that part of the coast bristles with heavy guns and the Germans are busy fortifying it. They see that as their most vulnerable coast."
Another general nodded. "Then we either think of north of Boulogne or south." The Admiral nodded. "North is not feasible. The ports are not on the coast. We need a port which sits right there on the coastline."
The first general said, "Then it has to be Dieppe."
I saw Major Foster and Lord Lovat exchange a smile and the Admiral said, "Exactly what the commandos said. Good. Then you gentlemen can come up with the plan. You, Lieutenant Harsker have your target. Major Foster will take you to operations so that you get a picture of what we do here at this end. The code name for this operation is Operation Rutter. We will work out more of the details."
Major Foster said, as he closed the door, "Sorry I couldn't give you a heads up on all this, Tom. I suggested you when Lord Louis was appointed but he is a careful man and he had you checked out thoroughly. Naturally you passed with flying colours."
He led me down to the basement. It was festooned with radios and maps. WAAFs and WRENs occupied the desks and soldiers manned the radios. On the wall were huge maps and there was a table which also had a map of the coast of France and the Low Countries. They largely ignored me. I was a lowly sergeant and I daresay much higher ranks normally visited.
"Here they monitor the radio traffic and pass messages sent by you or the radio operator in the E-Boat. For our purposes that is one and the same.."
"But we don't use radios."
"You will now. You will have to have two of your lads trained as signallers and radio operators. As you have demonstrated, sometimes it is impossible to make a rendezvous. Now you can tell us. One of these radio operators and one of the female service personnel will be allocated to your team. One of them will always be available to speak with you. They will be on duty for as long as you are in France or the Low Countries or wherever. They will get to know you. This is important, Tom, we don't want you to be captured and used. They will get to know you. They will be as much part of the team as the crew of the E-Boat. I want nuances in your words to be picked up. That way, heaven forbid, if you are captured then you can let us know without telling us."
We spent an hour talking to them. We spent a great deal of time looking at the maps and discussing how we would operate and what we would need. It took a long time. Major Foster finally allowed me to return to my father's flat. I had two days before I had to return to meet with the Major, have my final briefing and then head back to Falmouth.
I had with me a notebook filled with everything I had learned. I decided to spend the afternoon coming up with a training regimen for my new section. I now had a better idea of what was needed. I felt like a schoolboy preparing for an exam as I surrounded myself with pencils and paper. With a small team we would have to become specialists in certain areas.
I knew, from Major Foster, that I would need two signallers. Ken had been my signaller. We could all read Morse, of course, and use a map but the two men whom I elected to have trained would need more than that. Hewitt would be by medic. He was an easy choice. I allocated him his role. Scouse Fletcher suddenly came to mind as a signaller. His accent would make it difficult for a German to understand and to copy. The team in Whitehall would soon learn the inflections of his accent. He would be my first choice. As he got on well with the other northerner, Alan Crowe from Manchester, he could be my second. George Lowe was a natural with explosives. He would be the demolition expert and Harry Gowland had already shown great skills with vehicles.
The team sorted I turned my attention to the training. We would not have long for this first mission; that much was obvious. I deduced that we would be around the Dieppe area, I made a note to get as many maps of the area as I could. The more I jotted down the more questions I had for the Admiral and his staff. Would we involve the resistance? Would we still be based in Falmouth? If we were using a German boat should we use German weapons?
I heard the key in the door as Dad returned. He looked drawn. He gave me a tired smile, "The sun is over the yard arm somewhere son! How about a couple of whiskies?"
I put my doodlings away and poured us a couple of glasses of the amber nectar. "Tough day Dad?"
"We had some heavy losses the other day. We lost some fine pilots. I thought the older I got the easier it would become but I was wrong."
I nodded, "I know. We lost some good lads on this last raid. When we all go out we assume that we will all come back. I know it is ridiculous but there it is."
He nodded, "You know what we forgot to do last night, old son? Telephone your mum. She will be miffed if she hears of your promotion from someone else. Let's telephone her now and then pop out for some dinner at my club again."
He was right of course. Mum was delighted with the news. She had always wanted me to be an officer. I don't think it was snobbery but she knew, from the Great War, that some of the officers had not been made of the right stuff. She was convinced that I was. When I had given her the news I handed the telephone to Dad and went to wash and shave. As I brushed down my battle dress I realised that there had been a time I had been proud of the sergeant's stripes now I was desperate for my new uniform. Would this be the last night that I wore my old one?
Dad had me up early. We were at the tailors in Saville Row by nine. He introduced me to Maurice, the tailor, and told him to put the uniforms on his bill. "I'll have to leave you now. See you for dinner eh?"
Maurice was a fussy little man but he knew his business. Everything was recorded and written on a fresh page in a well worn ledger. I wondered how long I would be there. However once he had measured me he became all efficiency. "I have no Commando flashes, Lieutenant Harsker. I am afraid I will have to take them from this battle dress. That means I can only do one uniform today."
"I have a spare. I will go and fetch it eh?"
"Oh no sir. There's no need." He took some scissors and deftly began to remove the flashes. "If you pop back later this afternoon I should have one uniform ready. You could bring the flashes with you then. When would you require the rest of your uniforms?"
I have to leave London, probably tomorrow."
He sighed, "Everything is in a rush these days. Still there is a war on. I am afraid that I can only get one more battle dress ready for tomorrow. The rest will take a week. I have to get the material."
"That is not a problem. The battle dresses will be fine. You can send the others to my father."
That was my one day of leave. I spent the morning visiting the sights of London. Before the war it would have been to wonder at them. Now it was to view them in case it was the last time. I wondered how many more fine buildings would be destroyed by German bombers. I had lunch in a small pub just down from Trafalgar Square and close to Horse Guards. The fresh marks where my flashes had been removed attracted some attention. However the bar was filled with khaki and red collars. I was soon ignored. After lunch I returned to the flat to pick up my second flashes; I removed these although it took me longer than Maurice.
Even though I arrived back early Maurice had finished. After I had changed I was more than happy to leave but the tailor tutted, "Not yet, sir. There may be a war on but you are still a gentleman and should dress appropriately." When he was satisfied he stood back. "There sir. Perfect. Now if you require any more uniforms; tropical gear, mess uniforms and so on then just drop me a line. We have all your details now."
"Thank you, this will be fine."
As I donned my beret he frowned. "We have spare caps sir."
"This is what commandos wear, Maurice, thanks anyway."
The Major and I were not afforded the luxury of a flight back to Falmouth. We took a train. However the Admiral wangled us First Class travel warrants and we had a compartment to ourselves. We caught the only train of the day. It was the 10.30. With just one change it would take just over seven and a quarter hours. There was a restaurant car on the train. As we pulled out of Paddington Major Foster said, "This is the Cornish Riviera Limited. I used it on a few holidays before the war. Happier times."
The compartment allowed us to talk freely. I had had all my questions answered and more. We had two weeks to get ready for a mission to Dieppe. By the time my men returned from leave that left us with just ten days or so. We had much to do. The tides and the phases of the moon meant that we would be landing in the last week of May. We would be dropped close to Dieppe and picked up two days later. Our task was to identify the defences around the port.
As we watched England race by I asked Major Foster about the rest of the Troop. "Will you be part of this raid in force, sir?"
"At the moment no but because of my involvement in the planning we will be a strategic reserve. I am afraid the Troop's time in Falmouth is over. We will be moving back to Newhaven. Part of our job will be to help train the Canadians who will be going in. They are keen to do their bit, don't you know."
I had already learned that we would be staying at Falmouth. The narrow fiord like estuary was perfect for hiding the E-boat. The other one I had seen had been spirited away to the east coast where it, too, was engaged in clandestine activities. Faster than any of the British launches we could still be in France relatively quickly. I was sad that people like Daddy and Reg would be moved many miles east. Such was war. There was a long stop at Plymouth where we had to change engines. The Major explained that the bridge at Saltash could not take the weight of the King class engine. We pulled in four minutes early at a quarter to six. It was a short walk to my digs.
When I entered the digs Mrs Bailey burst into tears, "A lieutenant! Oh you do look smart. I am so proud!"
I smiled, "I am sorry that I had to leave so suddenly but..."
"I know, the Sergeant Major told me. Would you like a bit of supper?"
"No thank you Mrs Bailey, I ate on the train." As I headed to my room I wondered what the captain of the E-boat was like. His name sounded Norwegian. I knew that there were many pilots in the RAF from the conquered countries to the east but I had not found many Norwegians. Major Foster told me that there was a couple of sections of Norwegian commandos but they were based in Scotland.
Before I retired I cleaned all of my weapons. They would now be even more important. When I had been speaking with my father he had told me of something called a Maxim Silencer. It was a device to muffle the sound of a bullet. I had become quite animated when he had told me. Although neither of us had seen one he had described it in detail. I had decided to approach Daddy Grant and the armourer as soon as I could. Such a device might be invaluable. Especially if we were to spend long periods behind enemy lines.
I was the only one in the house and Mrs Bailey made me a delicious cooked breakfast. I had not used many of my ration coupons and I gave them to Mrs Bailey. One advantage of being away from England for long periods meant that we had more coupons left for the time we were at home. We ate better than most families.
I was so keen to get to the camp that I was there by seven. Reg Dean snapped to attention when I walked in.
"It is still just me, Sarn't Major."
"You are now an officer, sir!"
I shook my head, "Well this officer still likes your tea so, with your permission, I will have a mug."
"Help yourself sir. You look smart in that uniform. It looks tailored."
"It is."
He nodded approvingly, "Class always shows, sir."
I wondered if he knew of the move to Newhaven. It was still a month away but it would be a headache for Reg and his staff. He stood to reach for a file and I saw him wince. "Everything all right, Reg?"
"Just my leg, sir. The wound I received on one of the raids never quite healed." I looked at him and he nodded, "Yes sir, the doc reckons my days of derring do are over." He tapped the desk. Looks like I will be stuck behind one of these." He shook his head, "It isn't fair is it, sir?"
"You have done your bit Reg. Let us younger lads take the strain. You can impart your wisdom to them. That is worth more." He nodded. "I am going to see the Quarter Master but there are some things I need you to get hold of for me; if you can."
"Right sir."
"And this is on the QT."
"Of course, sir." He looked offended.
"Sorry, Reg, but at Whitehall they see spies and agents everywhere. I need maps, as many as you can get, of the coastline from Boulogne down to Bordeaux."
"What scale, sir?"
"As small as you can get."
"Right sir. Leave it with me." He rubbed his hands. "It will make a change from arranging cookhouse rotas!"
Daddy was also proud of my promotion. He had heard of our new role but not the details. I took out my Colt. "I need a silencer for this. If it works then I want it for my men too."
"I have heard of them but I am not certain where we get one from. Let's go and see Harry the Gun and ask him." He turned to his Corporal, "Jack, take over eh?"
Harry the Gun was the Sergeant Armourer. Like Daddy he had been a Sergeant in the commandos and, like Daddy, had been wounded in a raid in France. He knew his job and, more importantly, he knew how we did our job. After we had explained he said, "I have heard of them and seen them. You know, sir, that they affect the range of the gun."
"I had worked that out Sergeant but if we have to use them it will be in the dark and the range will be short anyway. We just need silence."
"It will never be totally silent but leave it with me and I will see what I can make. When do you want them sir?"
"As soon as you can make one but by the middle of May would be handy."
We left him to it. Daddy was a wise old bird. He lit his pipe as we walked back from the range and the armourer's workshop. "You are away again soon then eh, sir?"
"It looks like it."
"Anything special you need sir?"
"Any chance of oilskins? We will be at sea a fair bit."
"I'll get that sorted for you."
By the time I had returned to the office the Major was there. "Right Tom, let's go down and meet Lieutenant Jorgenson and his crew."
We now had a car for Major Foster's use. I suspect Admiral Mountbatten had arranged that. He seemed like a chap to get things done. We did not head to Falmouth but north towards the Carrick Roads and Restronguet Creek. There, close to the Carnon River, we saw the E-Boat. It was tied up to a small, recently made jetty. We parked the car beneath the trees and headed for it. I saw that they had rigged camouflage nets above it so that it was hidden from aeroplanes. The crew were busy working. I could see some stripping and cleaning the guns while three men were in the water, at the stern, attending to some problem or other. The damage I had seen when we left her had been repaired and she looked, to all intents and purposes like a ship of the German Navy.
The sailor who was sitting cross legged working on a magazine for the 20mm saw us and jumped to his feet. He had a huge grin on his face. He held out his hand, "Ah you must be Major Foster and the chap who captured this wee beastie. I am Alan Jorgenson formerly of the Royal Norwegian Navy and I am the captain of this little pirate ship!"
I liked him immediately but found it disconcerting to hear him speak with a posh Scottish accent. He saw my expression. "Norwegian father and Scottish mother. And then my father was stationed in Berlin at the embassy while I was growing up so I speak German." He spread his arms, "Perfect for this little job eh?" He wiped his oily hands on a piece of cloth. "Come on let's give you the tour." He nodded to me. Looks a little different from last week eh?"
"It certainly does. When those 110s attacked us I thought we were swimming home."
"They are a tough ship. And they are faster than anything we have. We can reach almost forty knots!" We were passing the torpedo tubes. He patted them. "We won't be using torpedoes and so we will not need to carry them. That will save quite a bit of weight. It means that we should be able to out run the German E-Boats. We have stripped out everything we don't need to make her a lean mean fighting machine."
A young officer approached, "Captain we have finished at the stern. The rudder is moving better."
"Good, "This is my other officer, Midshipman Graham Jennings."
"Morning sirs."
"Morning."
He scurried off. "Young but keen as mustard and he can speak a bit of German and a bit of French. They will more than make up for any nautical shortcomings. I have a really experienced crew. We pinched most of them from the MTBs, MGBs and MLs you have been using."
"Leslie!"
Bill Leslie's head appeared from the bridge. "Sir?"
"This is my senior rating, Leading Seaman Bill Leslie."
"I know Bill. We have served together before."
Bill grinned, "We have both been promoted then sir but yours is a little higher than mine."
Alan seemed happy about the happenstance. "Excellent. This is going to work out I think."
We finished the tour and met the whole crew. I recognised some of the faces but the engine room crew were all unknown. There were men who knew diesel engines. We sat in the small mess. The Major wanted to make sure that the lieutenant and his midshipman understood what the job entailed.
"The navy is a little jealous of this ship. They want it for themselves. It is only because of Admiral Mountbatten's intervention that we have it. It is vital that we look after it. Some boffins will be down tomorrow to fit a Type 79Y radar set. It should give you an edge."
Lieutenant Jorgenson groaned, "The trouble is, sir, we have to have wires and masts. We had got rid of the mast to improve our speed."
"It is a trade off, lieutenant. You may lose speed but you will have forty miles of warning."
I knew a little about radar from my Dad. "If you ask the boffins when they come there may be a way to stow it when the array is not needed."
"Good idea."
Major Foster continued, "Now the first mission is set for the last week in May. You will be taking Lieutenant Harsker and his men to Dieppe. You will drop them and then pick them up again two days later. The two of you will be responsible for deciding the pickup and drop off point. That way security will be tight."
"What about our aeroplanes and ships, sir? We don't want to be hit by them."
"That is where the radar will come in. You will spot any danger and can radio them before you see them. We will, of course, tell coastal command of your existence and they will be informed to be judicious when engaging E-Boats. Your lookouts and signallers will need to be on the ball."
"Righto sir."
"We want this first mission to be a complete success. It will convince the navy that we can put this boat to better uses and it will make our landings more effective. I shall leave you chaps to get to know each other. I will send the car back for you, Harsker."
"Thank you sir."
When he had gone Lieutenant Jorgenson took out a pipe. "He seems a nice chap but I am glad he has gone. Senior officers looking over my shoulder always makes me nervous."
"Major Foster isn't like most senior officers. He is a good chap. You can tell him and ask him anything. He is not pompous at all."
"Good. When do your chaps arrive then?"
"A couple of days. They were given a leave after the St. Nazaire raid."
"Excellent. Then by the time we have set up this radar and collected our stores we should be ready."
I nodded, "I have checked the maps. We will have to head for the north Cornwall coastline to find similar terrain to Dieppe."
"They were my thoughts too. We will try a couple of landings in daylight and then at night. I am worried about the depth at the bows. I don't want to risk grounding us."
"It does ride higher than an ML. We will just have to see. We will be using radios. That will affect the way we land. Can't have them getting soaked, can we?"
By the time the car came for me I was quite happy about the ship and the crew. Despite his cavalier attitude Lieutenant Jorgenson was level headed. We would be putting our lives in his hands and I was happy about that.