Lessons from Malta

Malcolm Lloyd Dubber

Description

This is a story of a romance between a Royal Navy officer and a Red Cross nurse caught up in D-Day and the battles that follow up to the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes and Holland. The naval officer commands fast coastal patrol boats (MTBs) and main function is to deceive German defence plans at D-Day and later intelligence work on finding V1 and V2 weapons sites. He spends some of his leave with his uncle who owns a farm near Newhaven and a few miles from his MTB depot. The nurse becomes emotionally involved with an American Army Medical doctor while her naval officer husband is wrapped up in clandestine intelligence operations and is reported “Missing in Action”. He is eventually gets entangled with preventing the SS / Gestapo attempts to abduct or kill escaping refugees from Holland to Britain; they are V-weapon scientists and engineers. The American Army Medical Officer becomes a casualty and requires specialist care / treatment. He joins the escaping refugee party and is safely shipped back to the USA. She is torn with emotions for her husband who has not written to her and the American Army Doctor. Her husband is finally reunited with her, where he reveals that he is to be posted to Malta where they both met originally and aim to go back to. This seals their relationship and love for each other.

Sujets

• Military
• World War II
• Romance
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse UK
• Date de parution: 30 novembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781728376721
• Langue: English

Extrait

LESSONS FROM MALTA






MALCOLM LLOYD DUBBER












AuthorHouse™ UK
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© 2022 Malcolm Lloyd Dubber. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/21/2022

ISBN: 978-1-7283-7673-8 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-7283-7674-5 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-7283-7672-1 (e)






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CONTENTS
Chapter 1 Assignment
Chapter 2 Goodbye Neath
Chapter 3 Ramsgate
Chapter 4 Denton Island
Chapter 5 US Army Doctor
Chapter 6 First Encounter
Chapter 7 No Tears
Chapter 8 The American Date
Chapter 9 Deception On D-Day
Chapter 10 Engage!
Chapter 11 D-Day
Chapter 12 Enemy Coast
Chapter 13 Good News
Chapter 14 Rest Before The Storm
Chapter 15 New Danger
Chapter 16 Dieppe And A Change Of Plan
Chapter 17 Trying Times
Chapter 18 Forward Casualty Receiving Station
Chapter 19 Letters
Chapter 20 Casualties
Chapter 21 Return To Duty
Chapter 22 Walcherin
Chapter 23 V2s
Chapter 24 The Railwayman
Chapter 25 Blackwell’s Successful Mission
Chapter 26 Where Is Ewan?
Chapter 27 Panzers
Chapter 28 Revelation
Chapter 29 Winter Beckons
Chapter 30 Hypothermia
Chapter 31 Calm Before The Storm
Chapter 32 Reunited
Chapter 33 New Threat
Chapter 34 The Battle Of The Bulge
Chapter 35 The Naval Officer
Chapter 36 Time To Go
Chapter 37 More Casualties
Chapter 38 The American Venture
Chapter 39 Refugees At Sea
Chapter 40 Blood And Mud
Chapter 41 Freedom
Chapter 42 Hazel’s Secret
Chapter 43 At Sea
Chapter 44 Woman’s Intuition
Chapter 45 Rough Crossing
Chapter 46 Close Encounter
Chapter 47 Engage!
Chapter 48 Cross-Examination
Chapter 49 We’ll Meet Again
Chapter 50 The Reception
Chapter 51 Hospital Train
Chapter 52 Admiralty
Chapter 53 Gibraltar To Malta

About The Author



1
ASSIGNMENT
Neath in South Wales was a coal-mining town in 1944 with large associated railway sidings and on the mainline from Swansea to Cardiff. The last days of April, just after Easter, saw the weather change from fine warm sunshine and gentle breezes from the coast to typical British weather—overcast, dull grey, and wet. The Allied planners for the invasion of Europe, the so-called second front, were now faced with these sudden changes in weather conditions coming into the British Isles from the Atlantic; almost every day now was wet and cold, and the forecast was not encouraging. By contrast, the weather in Italy had improved greatly, and here American and British forces were making steady progress after breaking past Monte Casino and the poor winter weather. This was, in effect, the second front, but the Russians, that is, Joseph Stalin, did not recognise this. It was set against this background that the date for the invasion was fast approaching, and all support military and naval units, many of which were still in training, were now being switched into direct support, especially the preparation phase. One area of special concern was the German coastal vessels and the mines laid by them. Minesweepers were now busy clearing vast swaths of the English Channel and southern parts of the North Sea. The minesweepers needed protection from marauding fast German E-boats—the equivalent of the Royal Navy’s motor torpedo boats, colloquially referred to as MTBs. There were also motor gunboats (MGB), which were more heavily armed and included 20 mm Oerlikon and 40 mm Bofors guns and depth charges in place of torpedoes. MGBs were often employed as MTB flotilla leaders. In addition, there were the rescue motor launches (RML), which were like the RAF air-sea rescue high-speed launches—they were slower but more heavily armed. All these different design roles of boats, including Allied and German, suffered one major weakness: they lacked armour and were vulnerable to attack by relatively light weaponry. They mainly relied on their speed and manoeuvrability.
It was set against the requirement to protect minesweepers and gather coastal intelligence that Lieutenant Ewan Jones was summoned to a meeting in Admiral Leven’s office in Swansea. Ewan guessed that the meeting was to review the progress of training of the MTB crews, which he had been put in charge of in late 1943. He had been transferred from Malta to the new training centre set up in Swansea, South Wales. Admiral Leven had been kept up-to-date with training progress reports and was satisfied that the MTB crews were ready to be transferred to their Operation Neptune support harbours. The Admiral’s meeting involved more than the simple transfer, as Ewan was about to find out. Ewan had also gleaned enough rumour that there was another operation. He was right—it was Operation Fortitude.
‘Ewan, you’ve done an excellent job here, and now it’s going to be put to the test. Moreover, you are going to be the core. It’s a straightforward transfer but with a twist,’ said Admiral Leven and paused, looking away from Ewan. ‘I have a couple of gentlemen coming along shortly. In fact, they should be here now. They will explain.’ The Admiral gave a wry smile.
Ewan’s heart fell. The tone in the Admiral’s voice meant only one thing to Ewan: naval intelligence was involved. ‘Naval Intelligence, sir?’
‘Er, yes,’ replied the Admiral. ‘There is a bright side. You are being promoted to Acting Lieutenant Commander. It will be confirmed shortly.
The Admiral’s office door opened.
In strode two men, both in civilian clothes. Ewan recognised both. His heart made a slight leap of relief as Commander Alec Gratton shook his hand. ‘Ewan, glad to meet with you again.’
He turned to the other man. Ewan’s momentary elation collapsed. It was Blackwell. ‘And also I’m glad to meet you again,’ said Blackwell.
‘So what is MI6 cooking up this time?’ asked Ewan.
‘They told me you knew each other,’ said Admiral Leven.
The word ‘they’ rattled with Ewan. It was clear to him that he had been specially selected for something clandestine. ‘I hope this is nothing like the Malta and North African desert job?’
‘No. It’s actually straightforward,’ said Gratton.
The term ‘straightforward’ had been used twice in less than five minutes, and Ewan was now on his guard. If they wanted him to do something dodgy, he would have to assure Hazel, his wife, that it was a ‘straightforward’ posting.
‘What do you know about Operation Fortitude?’ asked Gratton.
Ewan gave a guarded reply. ‘Am I not supposed to know?’
‘In one sense, no; you’re right. But on the other hand, yes,’ said Blackwell.
Ewan was confused. ‘I don’t follow, and I suppose I’ll regret asking what it is.’
Blackwell smirked and turned to Gratton. Admiral Leven turned from looking out of his office window to face the others.
‘Operation Fortitude is a deception to fool Hitler and his mob into believing that the invasion will take place around the Pas de Calais and north along the coast to Dunkirk. You are to command a flotilla of MTBs to cover the minesweepers, backup the RAF air-sea rescue boats, and generally put the shore batteries on continual alert.’ Gratton made it sound as though it was routine. This was the intention. ‘Ewan. Any questions?’
‘Who do I report to and where?’
‘Commodore Selby. He’s the senior naval officer of Coastal Defences and is based in Ramsgate. He will give you your final briefing, which will also include the latest information we have on the coastal defences, etcetera. Anything else?’ said Admiral Leven.
‘Just one thing. Where will my flotilla be based?’
‘Newhaven,’ said Gratton. ‘Some way from Ramsgate, but it’s an important port. It’s also one of the embarkation ports for Operation Neptune.’
‘So if Newhaven is part of Fortitude and Neptune, then the main invasion is Normandy. Am I right?’ said Ewan.
‘Yes. And soon. End of May or thereabouts,’ said Admiral Leven.
Gratton nudged in. ‘Ewan, about Newhaven. I understand you already knew that you would be based in Newhaven. So will that mean you will lodge with your uncle Richard?’
‘Not much gets passed you, does it?’ said Ewan and grinned.
‘Hm. Actually it’s a good idea. Our operation is to give the impression of secrecy but at the same time to reveal enough to point away from Normandy. Newhaven is close enough to Normandy so that you can provide additional cover if it’s needed yet at the same time keep the deception going,’ said Gratton.
‘We have intelligence that the Kriegsmarine are planning submarine attacks on the invasion fleet once it is identified. Could even be some sort of minisub. Whether it’s E-boats or U-boats, you will be there to mess them up,’ said Blackwell.



2
GOODBYE NEATH
A steam-engine whistle squealed a shrill through the damp mist that enshrouded the Neath Valley, as VAD Senior