Marius’s smile became a grin. ‘You are a clever man, Master DuPont. I think you may be right.’

‘Are you going to tell me which town or leave me guessing?’ the girl cried.

Marius and the teacher looked at one another. Then they turned to Aimee and said, together, ‘Bray-on-Somme.’

And the warmth of friendship was warmer than the amber fire.

Notes

NOTES

Diphenylamine chlorarsine (DM)

DM gas was invented by an American scientist called Major Robert Adams and was stockpiled by both Britain and the United States at the end of World War I. It would put enemy soldiers out of action without killing them. German gas masks would be useless. The war ended before it was ever used.

Manfred von Richthofen

Manfred von Richthofen (2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918) was known as the Red Baron, and was a German fighter pilot during the First World War. He shot down more enemy aircraft than anyone. He arrived at Bray with seventy victories. He added ten more before he was shot down and killed near Bray. He was almost certainly shot by a soldier on the ground.

Bray-on-Somme

The German army entered Bray in late August 1914 and in the first month the town was not too badly disturbed. The British fought back with heavy bombing, and forced the Germans to leave on 4th October 1914. For the next twenty-eight months Bray was used as an important rest centre for the French army. On 21st March 1918 the Germans launched an attack named Operation Michael, while Bray was held by the British army. On 26th March the desperate British army managed to hold back the enemy with the help of twelve of the first Whippet tanks to be used in action. But in the end Bray was given up without a fight. For the next four months the Germans used Bray as a base. Again French and British forces bombed the town. The German forces were weak from the flu epidemic. On 24th August 1918 a Canadian force drove them out.

For its four years of suffering during the Great War the town of Bray was awarded the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) by the French in 1920. The town was rebuilt over many years.

Bray was occupied by the Germans from 1940 to 1944 during the Second World War. On 1st September 1944, Bray was set free by the United States army.

Today Bray Museum shows memories of the Great War. Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, is remembered along with his squadron, the ‘Flying Circus’.

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First published in Great Britain 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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