Chapters (52)
- Cover
- Margaret Dickinson
- Dedication page
- Contents
- Part One
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Part Two
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Sow the Seed
- Note
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Copyright page
Kate sat watching a WAAF Flight Officer who was analysing the photographs from the previous night’s raid ready for the meeting called by the Air Officer Commanding.
‘Do you know what tonight’s target is?’ Kate asked her.
The WAAF officer looked up and smiled. ‘Not yet. We should be getting the signal from Bomber Command any time. The weather’s exceptionally good just now, so it’ll probably be something big.’
Kate nodded, but her thoughts were back at Suddaby. She just had to see Danny before take-off that night.
As the WAAF officer had predicted, when the signal came through it was a ‘maximum effort raid’; the Ruhr.
Back on station, Kate drove Philip immediately to briefing.
‘Would it be all right if – if I came in? I’ll sit right at the back out of the way.’
He looked at her. ‘Danny?’ he asked softly.
She smiled tremulously and whispered, ‘You’re far too observant, Group Captain Trent.’
He smiled, but there was still a sadness in his eyes, though whether it was for her or for himself, she couldn’t be sure.
‘You’ll have to pretend you’re dispensing tea or something, Kate. I really can’t get you admitted to the briefing. I’m sorry.’ His apology was genuine; she realized at once that she had put him in a very difficult position by even asking for such a favour.
She forced a smile on to her mouth and said brightly, ‘I understand. I’ll go and help Christine.’
He nodded and at the doorway, they parted; he strode into the briefing room whilst Kate slipped into a tiny room at the side where a WAAF was pouring out cups of tea from a huge urn. Christine glanced up, but seeing that it was the CO’s WAAF driver she made no demur about Kate’s presence. Almost everyone on the camp now allowed her admittance even to the most sensitive of areas, recognizing that the CO trusted the discretion of his driver implicitly. The knowledge warmed her.
Outside the aircraft were being fuelled from the huge tankers and the armourers would be loading up the bomb trains; twelve 500-pounders and one 4000-pound bomb for each Lancaster. It was a physically demanding and sometimes dangerous job.
By the time the aircrews were filing into briefing, their aircraft would be standing ready at dispersal, fuelled, tested and bombed up.