icerbox Cockleshell+Raid by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Format: epub
Published: 2013-09-18T16:00:00+00:00

By dawn they had covered one and a half miles. They enjoyed walking after days stuck in the canoe and it helped to dry them. Dry mud formed an effective insulation layer and they soon warmed up. In a wood between St Genes-de-Blaye and Fours they found sufficient undergrowth to cover them. About 20m from a stream they gathered grass and bracken to make mattresses, brewed tea and ate some compo rations. One slept while the other kept watch and they passed a peaceful day.

On his watch, Haslar memorized every detail of the raid so he could report accurately on his return as they retained no notebooks or documents in case of capture. In the afternoon they washed and shaved in the stream so they would not appear to be too scruffy if they knocked on a door.

They set off again at 1900 on the 12th and managed to cover eight miles cross-country during the night. It may have been that night that just after crossing a road a gendarme cycled past. If he had seen them, he made no attempt to turn and investigate, but he showed up on the next lane they crossed. They waited for him on the third, knives at the ready, but he turned back at the last moment.

They were a mile south of Reignac at dawn and Haslar thought it was time to try obtaining some civilian clothing. They selected an isolated farm and approached across the fields. A wiry elderly farmer working with his hoe looked up, checked over the strange looking pair and ignored them. Haslar went up to him, ‘Good morning monsieur. We are two English soldiers escaping from the Boches. Can you give us some old clothes?’ He looked at them without a trace of expression, gave a classic Gallic shrug and indicated the house; they would have to ask Madame. He returned to his hoeing as if being approached by escaping soldiers was a routine event. His wife was evidently busy. She refused to accept they were British and said she could not help, but disappeared into the house and left the door open. The smells of cooking must have been torture. She returned looking worried and pushed an old beret and flat cap into their hands, then told them to go away and not to mention their visit. They thanked her and left. The old man ignored them.

The next farmer’s wife refused to help and suggested they try the farm over the hill. This woman provided two pairs of worn trousers, a jacket and a sack in which to carry their belongings. As they left she even wished them luck; things appeared to be improving thought Haslar.

Moving into a nearby wood they transformed themselves into civilians and buried their weapons and uniforms, although Sparks says they were invited into the house and left their uniforms for the family to burn. Sparks wore the cap, jacket, blue naval sweater, trousers and felt soled issue boots. Haslar wore the beret and much the same as Sparks, but did not have a jacket.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.