‘I tell you, them glamour boys get all the blooming luck,’ the grumbling soldier said again. Kate glanced up at him and opened her mouth to speak, but her words were drowned by a terrific explosion and all heads turned to see the very ship they were making for receive a direct hit. Flames engulfed the bow and black smoke drifted skywards.

‘Oh no!’ Kate muttered, while the soldiers stared at the rescue ship in grim silence.

Wordlessly, Danny changed course slightly and headed for a smaller boat some distance further out to sea, skirting round the stricken vessel which was now burning fiercely. They could see men jumping back into the sea from which they had just been rescued, but with the present load they carried, Danny could do nothing to help. He steered away, thinking that if they went closer, panic-stricken men would grab their little fishing boat and capsize it.

‘We’ll see if we can pick some up when we’ve dropped you lot off,’ Danny promised, but no one on board answered him. They just continued to stare at their comrades struggling in the water. As they watched, a figure, his clothes alight, jumped from the vessel into the water. Even above the turmoil they could hear his screams.

‘Looks like every man for himself now,’ muttered the friendly soldier.

They neared the smaller ship but already they could see that the decks were lined with soldiers.

A ship’s officer hung over the side. He cupped his hands and shouted down to Danny as the small boat bobbed against the side, ‘We can only take ten maximum.’

In the small boat, heads turned, counting their number. There were eleven soldiers and the airman besides Danny and Kate. The soldiers began to haul themselves up the nets hanging over the side of the ship.

‘What about him?’ Kate indicated the airman. ‘He ought to be taken on board first. He needs medical attention urgently.’

The soldier who had been so scathing about the RAF glanced down as he began to climb. ‘Shouldn’t bother, miss, he’s a gonner anyway.’ And with that parting shot, he hauled himself up to safety.

Ten were on board, leaving the airman and the soldier who had been friendly. ‘Reckon I’ll stay and give you a hand, Miss, if we’re to save this lad’s life, eh?’

Kate gazed into his craggy face. He was older than the rest – a regular soldier, she thought, rather that a conscript.

‘Reckon it’s time we introduced ourselves.’ He held out a large hand that was blue with cold. ‘Gordon Stratford, pleased to meet you, Miss, though I could have wished for better circumstances.’

Kate grinned at him and put her own cold hand briefly into his. ‘Kate Hilton, and he’s Danny Eland.’ She nodded towards Danny, who was manoeuvring the boat around to head back towards the soldiers from the sinking ship.