Shot Down and the Long Walk Back (part 3)

I think we traveled for 1- 2 hours when we entered a fairly large town (later I found out it was called Chalons-Sur-Marne). The lady left me at the bus stop and told me to look as daft as possible.(people who know me would say that it wasn't TOO difficult to do). As she left she pointed out another lady and said I was to get CLOSE to her BUT NOT to make contact!. She had my ticket and I was to act like a simpleton. and show that I didn't understand anything said to me! She also said that I was going to Paris!! When I arrived at the station I was to get off and follow a lady who had her umbrella hooked over the outside of her forearm. I was absolutely scared stiff when a uniform man approached me on the train - I suppose he was asking for tickets? He was closely followed by a German Officer who looked at everybody's papers etc. When they got to me this lady gabbled something in French at them. I just acted as I had been told - DAFT. They accepted what she said and moved on. I was more than relieved to be left alone. It was difficult not to look around and NOT to speak. I kept my eyes down and glanced out of the window a few times.
We traveled all day and I was glad to get out in Paris. I looked around the station for the lady with the umbrella. On spotting her, I looked her in the face and she immediately seemed to know me. Off she went at a fair speed down to the Metro(underground). There were lots of people about and it was difficult to keep my eye on her.
We changed trains once - I think. When we left she climbed some steps, immediately turned and went through an opaque door!. I went to push the door and someone pushed from the other side. I tried again, desperate to not lose my guide, when suddenly the door swung open and there stood an Officer in Black Uniform and lots of insignia all over him. HE WAS A GESTAPO MAN!!!!! He held the door open for me and (I suppose) said 'after you'. I mumbled and shot past him in a hurry. I thought he would have smelt the FEAR on ME as I passed? Fortunately the lady had realised what was happening and had stopped to wait for me.. She quickly turned into a large building and went upstairs. I couldn't keep up and lost her. Then a voice called out 'ICI (here)'. I looked and she beckoned me into a doorway. In I stumbled gasping for breath.
AT LAST I thought I was in a safe place, but it turned out that I was there only temporarily. I was to be moved again within a couple of days. I was given a camp bed with a rubber mattress which left me feeling as if I had been swimming, so they gave me a blanket to cover it with. Next day I was left alone all day and my lady arrived at 5.00pm and said I would have to hide under the bed in her room. There were some friends coming to tea. Whatever I do, DO NOT make a noise because she wasn't sure if they were true Patriots or not? This proved to be most uncomfortable. The draught and cold were immense. the lady seemed very nervous and I was getting worried that she might do something which could prove really dangerous. The following day a man walked in and said 'Hello' in such good English, that I was sure he was an Englishman! He turned out to be an Agent in Paris giving HELP wherever he could. He then got me dressed and gave me another old coat, slightly better than the previous one. He took away my cap and said "you must walk with me and try not to look too obvious". I was a little worried about this but as we entered the Metro I gained a little more confidence. Finally we arrived in a small street and entered one of the houses. Inside was a flat where a middle-aged woman called SIMONE lived. She could not speak a word of English so this became a very happy and giggly time for us!.
I was with Simone for three to four weeks. I had lots of her friends visit. One evening she said there would be several people calling round to see me. They brought a parcel shaped like a small coffin , in it was placed a small white rope noose. Whoever received this parcel KNEW that they would be found HUNG within the next 24 hours!!.

I was taken out two or three times by the Englishman. We visited NOTRE DAME plus several other spots. I also went to the local cinema. During these visits I tended to get very nervous and my companion at the time would laugh at my fears. One cinema visit was particularly scary;- the film showed German planes shooting down every English plane in sight!. The audience were furious, they shouted, yelled and caused an uproar. The lights came on and in walked a German Officer with lots of brass on his tunic. He was followed by a dozen soldiers all heavily armed. "THERE WILL BE QUIET" was the order. The film restarted, showing the same thing. There was immediate uproar. On came the lights AGAIN.! Two men appeared on stage in black Gestapo uniforms. They demanded everyone’s papers. Before I knew it, my guide grabbed me by the arm and wriggled out of his seat, me following closely. We managed to get out before they had got the armed soldiers inside properly!. The guide then said "we have an aperitif, yes?" ( a drink in our lingo). So we went into a small cafe type bar. We had a swift drink and then returned to the flat. I later found out that he got a telling off for taking such a risk with me!.
One day there was a knock at the door (a secret knock) . I opened the door and a young man entered. His name was Pierre, he was an ex-soldier with the French and had been wounded in the hip and couldn't get about very easily. He was company for me during the long hours in the flat. I tried to teach him a little English and finally got him to say "Goodbye"!. By the end of the following day he got somewhat carried away with his little knowledge of English and said to me,"DOM (he couldn't pronounce 'T'), If I don't see you some more, Hello!".This was very funny at the time and has always stuck in my mind.
Next day the Englishmen (agent) called to take me out to Paris Sud Station. He handed me a book, written in French of course. Took me to a park-like area and sat me on a bench seat. "Read this book", he said, and do not talk to anyone. "When someone drops a book or coughs suddenly right close to you, follow them at a safe distance". He shook my hand and I thanked him for what he had done for me. Off he went, possibly to give help to others in similar circumstances?
Making sure the book was the right way up. I made out to read it for about half-an-hour! and began getting rather worried that things had gone wrong. Next thing!, a lady dropped her hanky at my feet and said "come". I got up and followed her at a fair distance. IT was quite a long walk to the station and I was not at all sure that my physical condition would stand up to much more. Finally we arrived and I was very pleased. Being cooped up in the flat had left me in no fit condition. A train was at the platform and she signaled me to get on. I sat at the front end and within a few minutes the train filled with people. Listening to their voices I was aware that they were speaking ENGLISH with an American twang. (These Americans were also receiving help from the Resistance). They all seemed to lit up cigarettes and were puffing away. The train started off and after a few minutes a French woman jumped up and started screeching "FUME INTERDICT" (NO SMOKING) and pointed to signs on the walls. Fortunately my lady guide apologised for the 'ignorant foreign workers'!! She told her that they were sorry not to have understood the notices.
We changed trains a couple of times en route to the south of France. One change was last thing at night and then we had to walk a couple of hours into the countryside. We curled up and tried to sleep under some bushes.

Next morning as soon as it was light, we set off for another station (it may have been the same one as the night before). We stood about waiting for the train and our guide told us not to be in groups of two or more or else the Gestapo would investigate further. It was rather a scary time waiting with Gestapo wondering around in their fearsome black uniforms. When the train arrived, we boarded, only to be shouted at. The train was full of armed soldiers with all their kit, (troop train we thought). The civilian train was at the rear. Then came a loud shout and a rather large overbearing officer pointed to our guide. She went to him, there was some talk resulting in her telling us to board the train. She told the officer that we were a football team traveling down south to play against a German team! She was invited to ride in the Officers PRIVATE COMPARTMENT!!. We later found out why. She had made herself available to him as comfort to the troops. (He being the troops!!).
Apart from that the train journey was quite comfortable, but very long. After 3 days of traveling we arrived in Perpignon. This was a small town on the Eastern end of the French/Spanish Pyrennees Mountains. We were here for three nights. Leaving to "WALK OVER" on the night of February 29th 1944 (Leap Year).
I was taken out for some exercise by the young daughter, Yvette. She had her 16th Birthday the following day. One of the Americans who was also billeted with me spoke good French. When he told me it was her Birthday, I said I would like to buy her a present, with the money in my escape pouch. Between him, her elder sister and myself we bought her a bright red handbag. She was very thrilled. I may have said we only stayed in this house for a couple of nights. So when it was decided to get us out, I was paired off with young Yvette. We had a short walk to a deserted part of the town- on the outskirts near to a rough track that led towards the mountains. The moment came to leave and I said "Goodbye and Thank-you very much". It was now dark and I was told that I would be the last man at the end of the column. In all we were 13 men walking in single file, me at the end. the pace was rather hectic! We did not stop other than to check everyone was still together.
It was very dark and I could just make out the shadow of the man in front, so I was VERY careful not to lose sight of him. He was doing the same to the man in front of him. We had several scares as we were treading a path through the German Lines which were on the border. We arrived at a river. It was flowing very fast. We stripped off the lower half of our clothes so that we could be dry when we got to the other side. During this brief stop I found out one of the men was a Canadian Wireless operator - like myself. His name was Bill. From what I was able to learn, strangely enough! HE was the man who's place I was to have taken over from during my time at O.T.U. flying Whitely Bombers.They used to send them out on Leaflet Raids before being sent to a fully operational squadron. Thinking of this later on, I realised it could have been ME that had been shot down a couple of months earlier!.
The mountain walk was proving to be extremely exhausting. We were almost up and over the first foothills when the sun appeared over the horizon. The two guides we had immediately said DOWN. We dropped to the ground and there we had to stay ALL DAY LONG. Whatever you do, they told us, do not make a noise or crawl about. It was because the Border Guards had powerful binoculars and could pick us out easily. We were very pleased to see the sun set and started walking again. Along came another river and again we stripped and waded across. This river was faster flowing than the first. the food - what little we had, was carried between two or three of us. the one with the bread dropped it in the river and away it went. This caused a lot of problems for us all later on. By now the guides said to walk a little during the daylight. BUT, they said, if we drop down into the snow, do it REALLY FAST. This happened a few moments later. There was a funny wheeeeing sound and it turned out we had been spotted by some soldiers on skis. They were firing at us. (If you have never been in really deep snow, you cannot imagine the STRUGGLE and STRENGTH needed to get through it fast.) It was a case of push twice - step forward once.? The only thing we think saved us was that the snow was so DEEP.
Our 'walk' over the mountains lasted for five nights. We had to leave two Americans behind as they had lain down and gone to sleep. Despite all efforts to rouse them, they would just not get up or even wake up!!. The man in front of me was a civilian, he was a Jew, but had a mixed race. he was called Pierre. NOW, he started to lag behind and that meant I was also lagging further behind. So I would shout in his ear, VITE PIERRE! VITE ALLEZ, PIERRE. This, I hoped would help him a bit. He seemed to be middle-aged. During our run up the first really steep parts of the climb, he was having a great deal of difficulty. You see, all that he had left was a suitcase with several bits and pieces in it. As the walk got harder and harder he had to get rid of it, and at the same time, put on anything else he could possible wear over the top of his clothes. Eventually he collapsed and as we both were some way behind the others I had to give him some help. The only way to do this was to hoist him over my shoulder and struggle on. This was happening as the Border Guards with dogs came searching. We simply had to get over the first ridge and out of sight.
Believe it or not! I knew I was under strain and we were struggling, but I managed to take a peek at the route the others were taking and made a mental note of which way we should go to catch up. Then suddenly on top of the mountain I saw MARY, my fiancée!! She had such a lovely smile and was wearing her Wedding Dress!!!. I knew then that all would be well. You will probably be very skeptical about this but Mary and I had not discussed our Wedding plans at all. Mary will agree with me even now after 50 plus years of marriage, (As the song goes - it dont seem a day too long!) She was always in my thoughts and having know her since the age of 9 or 10 I knew she was the one for me. To this day I say that I saw a GHOST on that mountain.

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