We all crowded over to the window and open-mouthed, we saw an open-backed car go by over the other side of the quay, followed by a lorry brimming full of troops, German troops.


We Shall Fight On The Beaches...

Chapter 8

By Susan Brown

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Previously...

Claire switched off the radio and we all sat in silence for a few moments. We no longer felt in any way snug and cosy in the little cottage by the harbour in Polperro.

And now the story continues…

It happened the following morning.

We had just had our breakfast and were all wondering what we should do that day.

Nan had gone out to go to the bakers. She said that we were eating her out of house and home, but she said it with a smile so I didn’t think that she was that concerned about it!

Helen was looking out of the window and I heard an exclamation.

‘Girls, come and look!’

We all crowded over to the window and open-mouthed, we saw an open-backed car go by over the other side of the quay, followed by a lorry brimming full of troops, German troops.

‘Oh Lord,’ said Ethel, ‘they’ve arrived: your Nan said that there were rumours. A lot of soldiers have been seen in Truro and Liskeard.’

‘We had better stay here until Nan gets back,’ I said.

‘You bet!’ exclaimed Glad. ‘We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves, do we?’

The car and lorry stopped and someone, who I thought must be an officer by his rather posher uniform than the rest, got out of the car and strode purposefully towards the lorry and started barking orders.

We watched the troops get out of the back of the lorry, there must have been about fifteen of them. With hobnailed boots scraping, they all lined up in single file and stood to attention.

I was scared, I have to admit it. I knew that they would arrive eventually, it was inevitable, but I did hope that we had at least a bit of time to recover from all that had happened, before we were back in danger again. I was being naïve, this was the real world and in the real world, horrible things happen so why should my friends and I believe otherwise?

I saw Nan walk briskly down the road towards the cottage and in no time she came in, took off her coat and then headed straight for the kitchen and the kettle.

I knew my Nan, she wouldn't say a word without her cuppa. We all followed her into the kitchen and quietly sat around the table whilst she busied herself with cups and saucers and the obligatory fruitcake.

Looking around, I could see that all of my friends were scared. Had we come out of the frying pan and into the fire?

Once the tea had been poured and the cake democratically sliced and handed around, Nan came and sat with us.

‘Well children, the Germans have finally arrived. Only a small force, they are still stretched it seems, but nevertheless, they have got the guns and like it or not, we have to be very careful. There are one or two people who live here who are quite pleased that the enemy is in power. We know who they are and we have tried to keep anything that we want kept secret away from them.

‘Only a handful of people in the village know where our menfolk and elder boys have gone and we want to keep it that way. The word is that the Germans will want to do a door to door search. We will let them search here and we will have to be on guard not to give anything away.’

‘What will they say when they see all of us kids here? I think that we should run away and hide,’ said Helen, obviously scared out of her wits.

She, like I, had a lot to hide and we didn't want to be found out and sent to some sort of internment camp or worse.

She looked kindly at Helen and then patted her hand.

‘Don’t worry honey, nothing is going to happen to you; any of you in fact. You all have identity papers that will stand any kind of scrutiny and you also have the advantage of being young girls.’

My heart warmed when she said that. I wanted and needed acceptance from my Nan and this was a nice way of showing it. I looked across at Helen and I could see that she was blushing a bit and smiling. I wondered what was going through her head.

‘The Germans don't need or want you,’ continued Nan, ‘they have enough to contend with without having to deal with people that do not, as far as they are aware, pose any sort of threat to them.’

‘I am a threat to them,’ exclaimed Claire.

We all laughed at that but I secretly felt exactly the same. The Germans killed my family and I wasn't about to forgive and forget. Nan also seemed to discount the fact that both Helen and myself were, in fact, physically anyway, boys. I shuddered to think what would happen if we were caught out. Did the Germans do body searches? I didn't know and to be honest I wouldn't put anything past them.

I was all for going out. I wanted to know what was going on, but Nan said that until we knew anything better, it was best to just stay at home and await developments.

Lunch came and went. We were all a bit subdued and not much was said. When I first thought of coming down to Cornwall, it was initially to find my Nan, the only living relative that I had left. After that, with the other girls, I was caught up in the idea that we could help fight the Germans. Alright, we were only young and probably very naive, but I believed that we could do something. So. I was young and so were my friends, but we could hold guns and fire them, couldn't we?

That made me think. Could I kill someone? What if the person I was firing at was the same as me, forced to be involved in a war that they did not want to be in?

I didn't want to think about it. I just hoped that I would do the right thing if it came to it.

We wanted to put the radio on to search for the news, but Nan poo-pooed the idea as there had been an edict banning the use of wirelesses. They must have got wind of the fact that the BBC were sending out the occasional report about what really was happening in Great Britain. Nan said that it was possible that the Germans could actively trace wireless use but whether that would include receivers as well as transmitters was another question but she would not take a chance on that.

So we couldn't use the radio and we had no idea as to what was going on. Frustrating to say the least!

Later that afternoon, we sat around playing Ludo, Snakes and Ladders and in the case of Nan and Ethel, a fiendishly complicated puzzle.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and as one, we all jumped.

Nan looked at us and said, ‘stay here,’ as she walked out of the sitting room to find out who was at the door.

There was a muffled conversation and then Nan came in giving us warning glances, followed by a German soldier!

By his uniform, I could tell that he was an officer, probably the one we saw earlier across the quay, getting out of his car and strutting about giving orders. Behind him was another soldier and I took him to be a sergeant or something similar by the stripes on his sleeves. He was holding a submachine gun that looked nasty and deathly.

‘Girls, this is Hauptmann Model.’

We all stood up, it seemed the right thing to do. I would have liked to have kicked him in the shin or better still his head, but I doubt that he would have appreciated that and would have probably led to swift and unpleasant reprisals.

To say that I was scared and close to wetting my knickers would be an understatement. This was the first time that I had come close to a German soldier since the time I was in the crosshairs of that tank gun, it seemed a long time ago now. I could sense that the others were just as frightened and I just hoped that none of us would say something stupid…

He took off his hat and ran his hand through his dirty blond hair.

‘Ah girls, lots of them I see.’

His English was almost flawless with only a trace of an accent.

His eyes travelled over each and every one of us. Those blue eyes seemed cold and somewhat distant.

‘Why so many of you here, I wonder?’

‘One is my granddaughter and the others nieces and great-nieces, from London. They came down when you started bombing London,’ replied Nan.

‘No boys?’

‘Our family runs to girls rather than boys,’ came Nan’s smart reply

‘It is good to look after ones kinder. Especially in these trying times.’

Once again he looked at us with piercing eyes that seem to see everything. My heart was leaping about like an excited frog as his eyes once again fell upon me. Did he see through me, could he see that I wasn’t like a normal girl…

He turned to Nan.

‘You are a teacher, I believe.’

I wondered in passing how he knew that nugget of information.

‘Yes, I was headmistress at the local school before I retired.’

‘St Swithin’s primary school at the top of the village, I understand?’

‘You seem to know a lot about me.’ She replied.

‘I make it my business to know. Now, down to business as you say, my men have been talking to people in the village, knocking on some doors and seeing how things are down here. It has been noted that there are a lot of children here but only young ones and strangely no boys over the age of about twelve. Why is that?’

‘Their parents sent them away.’

‘Why?’

‘They were afraid for them.’

‘Hmm, I see. There is no need for them or you to be afraid, we come in peace. We mean you no harm. We are here to help you get over what has been a costly and painful war. If your government had not been so intransigent and stubborn, much bloodshed could have been avoided.’

‘But…’ said Carol.

‘Be quiet Carol,’ said Nan in her best school teachers voice.

‘Ah good, you are a believer in discipline, I see. That is very good.’

He pondered for a moment.

‘The school is closed at the moment and there appears to be a lot of young idle children. Now I could put many of the older ones to work. Work that they might find unpleasant, but we Germans are compassionate and believe in a good education for our kinder. They will then grow up to be fine upstanding members of our society, able to serve and be a useful part of the community. Therefore, the school will reopen and you will once again be the headmistress. You will find whatever teachers that are left and use them. If, as I suspect they have left the area, then you will just have to manage with whatever help you can get.’

‘But I have no funds…’

‘You need not concern yourself. The funds will be put in place and a school secretary will be in charge of that side of things. I will appoint him on your behalf. ’

‘Do I have a choice in this?’

‘No, it is your duty. I expect you to get things moving tomorrow and school shall start on Monday. Now I have many other calls to make. I will return in one week to see what progress you have made.’

He paused for a moment and looked at each of us in turn.

‘Please be aware that we will not countenance any acts that obstruct us. We caught two people who blew up a train very near here. I regret to say that we found it necessary for us to execute them. If you play by our rules then no harm shall come to you. If however you do not play the game then we will have no mercy, no matter what age or sex you are.’

He spoke as if he was referring to a cricket match and not the murder of people that only wanted freedom. I think that I hated him more than any other person in the world at that moment.

Without another word, he clicked his heels, inclined his head and saluted and then without another word, he left followed by his silent but strangely frightening sergeant.

The front door closed with a bang and we just looked at each other.

I think that we were all taken aback by the cold and calculated way that he had talked about the executions and the threat of the same happening to us if we didn’t do as we were told and toe the line.

‘What a horrible man, he frightens me,’ said Helen who went over to Nan for a cuddle. I could have done with one too but I was a big tough girl, wasn’t I?

‘I’m not going to school,’ said Claire firmly after a moments silence where we all tried to take in what he had said.

Nan looked tired and sat down, pulling Heather onto her knee.

‘You will have to go to school. Don't you see, they want to keep children off the streets and occupied. You will be safer there.’

‘I don't want to be safe,’ retorted Carol, ‘I want to fight the Germans.’

We all nodded in agreement.

‘I know you do, but at the moment the best thing to do is not draw any attention. You are young, very young and you should not even be thinking of fighting the enemy but you have all been through so much and want to get back at the Germans for what they have done to us all. But we have to pick our fights and be clever about it. I am treating you all as adults, I have to, despite my misgivings. I am asking you to go to the school and behave like normal schoolgirls. When we have lulled them into thinking that they have all of us tamed and under the thumb, then we will make our move. I will contact the men and let them know about the situation and we will see if we can somehow turn this to our advantage. There must be a way to get back at them.’

‘The officer didn't seem too bad,’ said Heather, obviously blocking out what the man had said about killing our men and threatening us. I supposed that it was her way of coping.

‘Don’t be filled by the polite way he speaks,’ replied Nan, ‘he might have a smooth way of talking and give the impression that he is civilised, but underneath it all, he is ruthless and will get his way by hook or by crook.’

‘I didn't like the look of that sergeant,’ I said.

‘Yes, he’s a nice looking piece of work,’ agreed Nan, ‘Now, back to business. Whether we like it or not, we are under the control of the German occupation so you see girls, we have to tread very carefully and bide our time. We don't want to bring attention to ourselves. We will do as the captain says and I will open up the school again and you will all attend and be good girls, on the surface anyway. However, if an opportunity arises where we can disrupt things then we will do so.’

None of us liked it. Alright, we were bored, but who actually likes school? Would a school effectively run by the Germans be any different from what we were used to and would German culture and values be forced on us? Nan once said that history was written by the winners, would our history be tied up with Germany, where they swept all before them and conquered Europe? Would our victories in the past be forgotten? How would they treat the Great War where we had beaten Germany?

So many questions and no answers. We would just have to wait and see.

Later on in afternoon, I went for a walk. I wanted to be alone and think things through. Less than a week before, I was at home with Mum and my sister. It seemed like years ago, what with all the terrible things that had happened since that awful night when I lost my mum and sister. At home, our life had been fraught with danger, but at least we were together. Now they were both dead and my home had been destroyed by a bomb. At least I had Nan and those who I considered to be my new family.

I sat on the wall of the quay, looking out to sea not quite believing all that had happened. I was reminded of my new status as a girl as the breeze suddenly whipped up my skirt, exposing my knickers to any passing seagull, of which there were many.

I smiled at the thought of me now being able to show myself as a girl and the fact that Nan was fully supporting me as were the girls that I now considered to be my sisters, yes, even Helen.

Helen, the way she was now, could not considered in any way to be a boisterous boy. I had been watching her for days now, I had been concerned that she might give the game away and do something boyish. That would be dangerous to everyone and lead to questions that no one wanted to answer. But she had shown little sign of boyishness apart from the occasional time when she sat down and left her legs open. She hadn't even done that, as far as I was aware, for the last few days.

It was great seeing my nan again and I was so pleased that she accepted me as a girl. She didn't even blink but just took me at face value. With her helping me, I had a chance to live as far as I could in the gender that I should have been born as. The medical things that she told me about excited me. I was so pleased that I was not the only person with my “problem” and that I might have things sorted out for me. Mind you, now we were under the jackboot of Germany, I did wonder if my optimism might be misplaced.

I stopped thinking about the future, that would look after itself. Now, for the time being anyway, I would just have to concentrate on the present. I would be going to school. I had no idea what that was going to be like but I knew that under Nan, the Germans wouldn't have it all their own way.

I heard a noise overhead. Suddenly coming from behind me and shooting out to sea was a fighter plane. My heart leapt into my throat as I realised that it was a Spitfire! It was closely followed by two other planes that were firing at it as it weaved and bobbed in the bright blue sky above. The pursuing planes looked like an ME 109’s. Most kids could spot makes and models and I was particularly interested in aircraft as a great uncle of mine had been a sergeant pilot in the Great War.

The Spitfire was doing all it could to shake off its pursuers and suddenly, it shot straight up in the air twisted violently to the left, did a loop de loop and then somehow it was behind the two 109’s. Firing into the fuselage of one of them. There was a huge flash followed by the sound of an explosion as the 109 blew up. Then before I could catch breath, the other 109 was subjected to intense firing from the Spitfire as it came in for the kill. I could see the trace of the bullets as it hit the wing of the plane as it tried to dance out of the way.

The 109 did a sharp turn, but not as tight a one as the Spitfire, who came up underneath and fired into the belly of the plane.

Suddenly the wing of the 109 just came off and the plane nosedived into the sea. The Spitfire then waggled its wings and then flew off down the coast disappearing around the headland.

I stared at the sea. There was nothing there. The planes had sunk immediately on impact. The only thing that I could see was what appeared to be an oil slick.

It was almost as if nothing had happened.

I stood up, feeling rather shaky. Turning around, I could see several people looking out to sea. There was no elation. We had just witnessed the death of two pilots. Horrible deaths. They were Germans, but they were people too. The only good thing was that it wasn't our brave pilot down there in a watery grave. It gave me heart to think that we still were fighting and had teeth that could still bite.

~*~

I made my way back to the cottage and told the others what I had seen.

‘Good,’ said Glad, ‘lets hope that the plane gets back to its base safely, wherever that might be.’

‘The Germans won't like it,’ said Ethel, ‘I mean, they've supposed to have beaten us into submission but there are still fighters out there.’

‘I wonder where its come from.’ I said.

‘Who knows,’ said Nan, ‘some secret airfield somewhere. It would need to be camouflaged. Now,’ she continued, completely changing the subject, ‘it’s time I cooked something.’

She left the room and started making saucepan type noises in the kitchen

‘I wish I could fly planes and hit the enemy where it hurts,’ exclaimed Helen with such a serious conviction that I’m afraid that we all laughed.

‘What?’ she asked looking around with a puzzled expression on her face.

She didn’t seem to realise that she looked the most inoffensive little thing in the room. Then she realised what we were laughing at and smiled ruefully.

‘I can’t help being small. One day, I’ll be big and they’ll be no stopping me!’

Ethel threw a cushion at her and soon we were all throwing cushions.

‘STOP!’ Shouted Nan in her most forthright and schoolmarmish voice.

We stopped what we were doing and looked, I think, suitable sheepish.

‘Right you lot have quite a bit surplus energy so first you can tidy up in here and then your rooms. Now jump to it!’

We jumped.

Please leave comments and let me know if you want this to continue. Oh, and if you can, please do the kudo-thingie...thanks! ~Sue