Free Churchill's Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII by Damien Lewis Page A

The
Nuneaton
was under tow from the
Vulcan
, to conserve fuel stocks – both being coal-fired vessels. All of a sudden the
Nuneaton
heeled over violently and seawater flooded into the wheelhouse, pouring into the engine room below. Various ship’s supplies tumbled over the side as the men clung on for dear life. The
Nuneaton
had swung too far to one side on her towrope, until she all-but capsized.
    As the
Vulcan
ploughed ahead she was dragging the smaller ship further into trouble, water cascading over her deck. It wasLassen the experienced seaman who saved the day. Seeing the
Nuneaton
heeling over disastrously, he grabbed an axe, ran to the
Vulcan
’s stern and hacked through the tow-rope. Freed at last, the
Nuneaton
finally righted herself. Two men had ended up in the sea, and they were pulled out as quickly as possible, for sharks had been sighted in the area. When the vessels finally got underway again the
Nuneaton
was doing so under her own steam.
    Training resumed. A pair of folbots – collapsible canoes – were assembled and painted a dull camouflage grey for night-time operations. March-Phillipps and Appleyard had decided that the
Likomba
could be boarded from those, for she sat so much lower in the water. The advantage of the folbots was that they allowed for an utterly silent and stealthy approach, as long as those crewing them knew how to paddle and steer them properly.
    Hayes and Winter – the
Maid Honour
Force regulars – were old hands at such work. They would crew the first folbot, with District Commissioners Newington and Abell in a backup canoe. It took a degree of skill to master the two-man craft. With both vessels hoved to, District Commissioner Newington lowered himself into the narrow, canvas-skinned folbot, with his customary pork pie hat perched on his head and his pipe clamped between his teeth. A large and avuncular man, Newington proceeded to paddle with gusto towards the
Vulcan
, which right now was acting as the target ship.
    He promptly capsized.
    Undeterred, and with hat and pipe still in place, he began to swim his folbot back towards the
Nuneaton
. It was then that thesharks began to circle. Those on deck were yelling warnings at Newington, but presuming it to be nothing more than good-natured banter he continued on his slow but steady way. Luckily he made it back in one piece, but he turned as white as a sheet once he realized how close the sharks had been.
    It was now their third day out from Lagos, and Operation Postmaster was scheduled to take place just before midnight on the morrow. March-Phillipps decided it was time to reveal to his newest recruits the exact nature of their mission. He outlined where they were headed, what the targets were, and the kind of forces and weaponry they were up against – both the shore-based defenders and the ships’ crew themselves. He explained how he was putting the
Maid Honour
Force regulars at the tip of the spear – with Lassen, Appleyard and Hayes leading the charge, and tasked with blowing the anchor chains to free the two vessels.
    The Colonial Service volunteers would form a second wave of boarders, charged with overcoming and subduing the ships’ crew. March-Phillipps stressed that it was impossible to predict the level of resistance they would encounter. To aid in the taking of the
Duchessa d’Aosta
a platform had been rigged up protruding from the
Vulcan
’s wheelhouse. Four men could fit on the planking, and from there they could spring onto the larger ship’s deck. The boarding parties were arranged in parties of four, and one after the other they practised using the platform as the launch-pad for the attack.
    The following day dawned fine and clear. By mid-morning the jagged 10,000-foot Santa Isabel Peak – the highest point on Fernando Po – had been spotted. A cold lunch was served, forthe galley was being used to prepare the plastic explosive charges to blow the anchor chains. That afternoon the final kit issue began. Each