A Glider Pilot's Story - continued (2/3)

CHAPTER 2

We were grateful to the Typhoons as we had also been grateful to the Rescue launches on station in the North Sea. They were real evidence of the supremacy of our forces and the sight of them was reassuring, as if symbolically guaranteeing the success of the operation. The first task was to assess our own situation and to decide on a course of action best suited to the new circumstances. Our briefing had included guidance which was based on overall success. "If you should have to force land in occupied Holland, lie low for a few days."

As we jumped down from the glider, three of the passengers had already taken up positions near the wheels. Leaving them there, Phil, Herman and I, made our way across the field towards the farmhouse and its buildings. Standing in the lee of the house was a group of locals whose attention was now diverted from the sky and focused on the strangers so dramatically thrust upon them.

Soon Herman was chatting to the farmer and his family, with Phil and I standing by - our ears unaccustomed to a language that has been described as the sound of people talking with hot potatoes in their mouths. Reminding Herman that we needed to find out as much as possible, I was suddenly surprised by a new arrival. A rather breathless young man, with a shock of brown hair over his forehead was speaking to me in English. "You are the officer, here? Perhaps I may help you?"

We detached ourselves from the group and walked round to the other side of the house. Taking out my map, I held it spread against the side of the building and invited him to show me our exact location. This he did pointing in the direction first of Nieuwerkerk and then of Ouwerkerk. Then he gave me a warning - "you must not trust this farmer, he is an N.S.B.'er". Seeing my puzzled look, he traced a swastika with his finger on the wall. I asked him where the nearest Germans were and from which direction we might expect to be attacked. It appeared that the nearest German post consisted of about a dozen men at Vianen. Before long I knew where all the German fortified positions were on the island and the dispersal of their troops.

The main fortifications were in the western coastal area with troops also stationed at Zierikzee, Brouwershaven, Bruinisse and Zijpe. "Yesterday," he said, pointing to the map and indicating Dreischor, "another glider landed here." "Where are they now ?" I asked. "They have had a battle," he answered. "They have killed and wounded some Germans and then they were captured." I asked him how many there had been and he said that he thought there were about sixteen. My new friend introduced himself as Jan Romeijn whose farm, Grote Hoofstede, lay between our present position and Ouwerkerk. (It was nearly a week later when I discovered that the N.S.B.'er he had warned me against was his own half-brother Keiser Romeijn.)

After thanking him I rejoined the others and told Phil to keep an eye on things while I had a look round. Taking with me the private from the South Staffs we walked about 200 yards in the direction of Ouwerkerk paddling ankle deep in water until it became deeper and we reached a makeshift bridge made from planks and posts. This appeared to span deeper water for about 50 feet. I decided that if the Germans were coming, then this would be the likely direction and that it was also a suitable place to hold them off for a while. I put this to my companion and told him to take his post by the side of the cottage nearby. I also told him that I would send one of his mates back with the heavy machine gun to set up covering this possible approach. Then I returned to the farm, told Phil what I had done and sent him with the Paratrooper to put up the gun.

This done I had a look round in the other direction. Here the road towards Nieuwerkerk seemed to be under water to a greater depth. There was no intention in my mind that we too would be "having a battle". My idea was that our best plan would be to disappear and lie low - after all we expected Market to be successful. In that case, German resistance in Holland would crumble in the face of the threat to Germany itself. However, that wasn't going to happen for a while yet. It was the immediate future that had to be decided on.

Nieuwerkerk itself appeared to be completely evacuated and deserted. At first sight it appeared to offer cover and a possible place to hide. We could hardly stay where we were but there was action needed in respect of the glider and its contents. There was no point in unloading the Jeep and trailer since we were on an island, mostly flooded. The first alternative was to destroy it on the spot but I felt that though this would deny to the Germans the use of its contents, it would also draw attention to us and pinpoint our position. In the end I instructed the driver to immobilise the Jeep and drain off all the petrol. The ammunition for the Lewis gun we would take with us.

Just before taking a look at the approaches to Nieuwerkerk we had discovered a flat-bottomed, home-made boat. We loaded the gun and ammunition into the boat together with our rucsacs and set off along the road, pushing the boat as we went. Our progress was somewhat slow and rather hesitant as we didn't really know what we were looking for. Most of the way we were walking through water which varied in depth between ankle and chest. One reassuring thought was that the Germans who came looking for us would have to suffer similar discomforts. Eventually we stopped and looked around. We were still some way from the middle of Nieuwerkerk and the water was becoming shallower. We made an entry into one of the houses on the left of the road. The ground floor was just above water level. Hiding the boat in the barn, we took the cargo in with us.

The day was wearing on and each of us tackled his own problems over what to do about wet clothes. We also had a brew. It was the first time we'd had the opportunity to talk quietly together about our present predicament and possible future. We were reasonably safe for the time being - we had shelter for the night - we carried with us enough rations for 48 hours - we also had some apples given to us by the people at the farm. Our first duty was obvious, we must avoid being captured for as long as possible. To achieve this we would need food and shelter and possibly help with both. For the time being we would share out very carefully what food we had until we could obtain further supplies. Tomorrow we would have to move on and find a better hiding place where we could hope to remain concealed. The machine gun was an encumbrance - we would have to leave it behind. However that could wait, tomorrow was another day.

CHAPTER 3

The night passed in fitful rest - that is with an absence of physical activity. I don't think any of us slept much, though there were periods when we dozed. The best of these periods was around dawn, by which time our battle dress trousers had dried on us. I don't know how long after daybreak it was when we were disturbed by some activity outside. There on the roof was a Dutch farm worker, tapping on the skylight. He had been told by the Germans to tell us that if we did not surrender they would open fire on us. We thought this was a bit optimistic on their part as we were of the opinion that they could not have known our exact location. We were however a bit concerned about him advertising our position by lying on the roof and talking to us. Through Herman we suggested that he should go back and tell them that they could open up whenever they wanted. Probably at that moment the Germans were at the Keiser Romeijn farm and uttering threats which the Dutchman had duly passed on to us.

We moved out, on the way disposing of the ammunition and the M.G. firing mechanism in deep water. Then we carried on in the same direction as the previous evening along the road towards the middle of Nieuwerkerk. The level of the road rose gradually until we arrived at the middle of the village where it was high and dry. Here, we were in the middle of the village square in which there was a large church and adjacent to it a tall, broad based, tower. It was so quiet; we had noticed before leaving the water that the only noise was that made by our progress through the water and now only the sounds of our boots on the cobbles broke the silence.

We carried on crossing the streets which ran parallel to the square and continued in the same direction. Soon the road we were on (the Molenstraat) fell away again and became covered with water as it reached a large windmill. Retracing our steps, we decided to investigate one of the houses which was now on our right. It was on the opposite side of the street to a small chapel. Going round the side of the house to the rear, we discovered a well in the back garden. The kitchen window was easy to open with a bayonet. The downstairs rooms were dark because the blinds were drawn. The furniture, a large table and some chairs, was stacked, and we went upstairs. The upstairs consisted of a large open space with two smaller rooms to the left and right of the stairs. In each of these was a built-in bed. There was also a door which led to an outside balcony.

This seemed to be as good as anything, at least for the time being. Mind you, at this stage we didn't know what sort of place would best suit our purpose. However we had left no obvious trace outside and so long as we were quiet and drew no attention to ourselves, there was the possibility that we could conceal ourselves successfully. A thorough search would be difficult for us but the Germans too had a problem as they had no way of knowing whether we had moved on beyond Nieuwerkerk and at least for the moment would not know where to start looking. In any case it would keep a few of them busy for a while.

Strangely, this seemed to work for the next three days, although there were problems. The most obvious was the shortage of food. We had to eke out what we had for as long as possible. The second problem was boredom and inactivity. In this we fell into two distinct groups. Phil, Herman and I were more or less wholeheartedly determined that the lie-low policy of evading capture was important enough to override considerations of boredom and discomfort and hunger. The other three were not so wholehearted in their support of the policy. One of them, the driver, worried about the effect the shortage of food would have on our health. The paratrooper, who had previously served in North Africa, was bothered about being discovered and trapped. The lad from the South Staffs wasn't such a moaner but was more inclined towards the other two.

To me, both at the time and even now it was quite understandable. We were an oddly assorted group of strangers, and the three of them had been prevented from being with their mates of Para HQ. Had we arrived at L.Z. "X", they would probably have behaved differently but here, in these circumstances, they were being asked to play a role for which they were ill prepared.

By the third day, we had nearly used up our rations. Phil and I had brought with us 24 hour ration packs. These contained three concentrated blocks; one was porridge, the second was for making a sort of stew, and the third contained tea, sugar and dried milk. In addition, if memory serves, were about half a dozen biscuits and a few boiled sweets. These were in a cardboard box measuring about the same as the inside dimensions of the mess-tins into which they fitted. They also contained some sheets of toilet paper. A most important adjunct of these ration packs was the "Tommy Cooker". This consisted of a folding metal stand which would support a mess-tin and held a block of naptha, sufficient to heat or boil a full mess-tin. These two ration packs formed the main constituents of our food supply and had served six of us for three days. They had been supplemented by some sweets and chocolate which we all seemed to have, and also by the apples which we had been offered at the farm. Our supply of cigarettes also was nearly exhausted.

We had some discussion and decided that Phil and Herman should go out into the village, see what was going on, and try to find some more food. A search of the house in which we were had yielded nothing. Off they went, returning in about half an hour. They had found in one of the houses some fruit and vegetables preserved in kilner jars. They also reported that things were quiet. Their return gave us all a bit of a boost. Not only was there the immediate supplement to our meagre diet but there was also a momentary dismissal of the boredom and inactivity. The others then wanted to have a go. I decided to go along with this after impressing on them the need for caution. Three more forays were made that afternoon, led in turn by Herman, Phil and finally myself. This meant that we had all been out into the village. It also meant that we added to our stock of food. We were all feeling better and the day ended in an atmosphere of euphoria and, for the time being, with less apprehension for the morrow.

The next day brought with it some degree of anticlimax. Our feeling of well-being began to dissipate. There was also a new mood influenced by the appetite for some activity. Yesterday we had broken out of our self-imposed captivity and we wanted more. There were other considerations too; bottled fruit like plums and vegetables like carrots were very welcome but we were going to be in dire need of more starchy foods as well. We would have to make excursions like yesterday but the proceeds of such jaunts did not go very far when shared six ways. There was still the need for caution.

Little did we know but other events were moving which would rapidly despatch the remnants of our new-found feelings of well-being. There were sounds from outside. We were quickly silent, alert and listening. "Jerries!" They were looking for us. There in the street below they were searching house to house. Heavy jackbooted footsteps passed along the side of the house to the back. We heard the kitchen window being opened and one of them clambering in over the sink. His footsteps echoed over the bare floorboards downstairs and he returned to the kitchen. He examined the downstairs toilet and had a pee. How he never deduced that the toilet had been in use, I will never know. From the garden next door came a shouted question - "Haben sie einigeschwein gefunden?" "Nein", came his reply as he returned to the back garden by the way he had entered, through the kitchen window. There were still some more disturbing noises to come - more heavy footsteps, some shouting. Herman and I tiptoed to the small window which faced onto the house next door. We could just see the street and the chapel opposite. A whistle was blown, more shouts, more heavy footsteps. There before our eyes, the searching detachment fell in and marched away. We breathed again.

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