Free 1918 We will remember them by Griiff Hosker Page A

about the VC.  She sees it as a sign that I am being reckless.”
    He nodded and stubbed his cigarette out.  “Well you are.”
    “What?”
    “Oh don’t get me wrong I appreciate that quality in you.  It is what makes you a great pilot.  Gordy and I can fly but you are a pilot and more than that you are a fighter pilot. Freddie told me that today you went head to head with the Red Baron and he didn’t win.  Do you know how rare that is?  If that had been me or Gordy you would be picking bits of us up with tweezers. You can’t change your nature but you should expect Beattie to get upset.”
    “The trouble is it is such a long time since I have seen her.”
    “Things quieten down just before Christmas. We will have a leave then.  Do something with her.  Take her away somewhere.”
    “In December?”
    “What?  You want a bloody suntan now?  It is the break that is important and not the weather.”
    I realised how right he was. “Thanks Ted. You are right.  You should get a woman of your own .  You seem to know how to handle them.”
    “Aye and that is why there are none in my life.  It is complicated enough just staying alive in the air without worrying about a woman.  I will wait until this damned war is over.  If it takes ten years like Randolph said then at least an ugly bugger like me will have more chance of a good looking woman.”
    “How so?”
    He shook his head sadly, “Because almost every eligible young man will be dead and the land will be filled with wounded cripples who survive this madness.”
     

Chapter 7
    Archie flew his Bristol and led the stronger half of the squadron.  Freddie and I led the eight Camels who had survived. Jack Fall looked to be more confident and assured.  Part of that was the fact that he did not have to worry about Roger Jenkin who was still in sick bay.
    We did not want to go but we were ordered into the sector where the Red Baron had hunted the previous day. I had advised Archie to take us as high as he could.  The Bristols were a large inviting target. What worried me was that we were supposed to be clearing the air of Germans but, so far it was us who were outnumbered. Randolph had told us that other squadrons were outnumbering the Germans but the High Command felt that we were close enough to the French to operate as a single squadron.  They were wrong.
    For the first time since we had returned south we saw troop movements in the distance. The lines of grey were moving towards the trenches.  Although it did not necessarily mean an offensive it was worth investigating. Archie led the Bristols lower to ascertain numbers and to engage in some strafing. As fighter cover we maintained our altitude and I was the one who first saw the twenty odd aeroplanes as they appeared like an angry swarm of hornets.
    They were too far to identify but I felt my heart sink into my boots at the thought of locking horns with the Flying Circus once more. I had a handful of Camels under my command and the Bristols were totally outmatched by the Fokker Triplane. I led my flights east. I heard the machine guns of the Bristols as they swooped along the columns of grey.  Archie and the others would have no idea that they were about to be jumped by overwhelming numbers and we had no means of communication. I had no choice.  I could not remain high; I needed to intercept them before they cut Archie and the others to ribbons.
    As I began to descend I saw that it was not the Flying Circus and they had no Fokker Triplanes.  They were the Fokker Biplane and the Albatros.  Both were sturdy aeroplanes but they could neither out turn nor out manoeuvre a Camel.  However they outnumbered my Camels by over two to one. I cocked my Vickers.  I had been profligate with my ammunition the previous day and I was determined to be more careful.
    Freddie and I had decided that he and his flight would fly above me and to my left.  It meant I would turn to starboard when I had finished my