Jeremy nodded distantly while staring out the window at the passing villages and rolling fields. The train’s rhythmic purr brought a hypnotic effect. More minutes passed, and then, to relieve the distress, Claire asked, “Did you see in the news that the Germans dropped their first bombs on England two days ago, against our shipping?”
Jeremy nodded. “It’s as Mr. Churchill said, the Battle for France is ended, and the Battle of Britain has just begun.” He sighed. “We know we are in strange times when we use a bit of news like that to lighten the mood.” Then he leaned toward Claire and touched her face. “I want to say thank you.”
Claire regarded him, once again on the brink of tears. “For what?”
“I know you can’t acknowledge what I am going to say, and I don’t want you to.” He paused, searching for the right words, and felt the return of composure as he spoke. “I know you had something to do with generating my mission to France. I don’t know what you did, but whatever it was, without you, Ferrand Boulier would likely be dead, and his network destroyed. Now it’s a valuable asset, and I got to see Amélie again. That wouldn’t have happened for a long, long time.”
Claire gazed at him through teary eyes. “Oh, little brother,” she cried, hugging his neck and kissing his cheek. “I love you.” She clung to him for a time. “Things will work out for you and Amélie, you’ll see.”
Jeremy adjusted himself in her arms so that his shoulders lay flat against the back of the seat. He stared up at the ceiling. There must be a way to use that network to find Lance and bring him home.
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EAGLES OVER BRITAIN
Book #2 in the After Dunkirk series
As WWII intensifies, the German Luftwaffe attacks Britain from the skies in a major air campaign. With no allies at hand, she stands alone.
Individual American pilots, ignoring US neutrality laws, rush to aid England and join her fighter squadrons.
As the Battle of Britain rages on, British pilots are joined by these, “The Few”, as well as refugee pilots from Poland, Czechoslovakia, and other embattled nations.
The story of the Littlefield family continues in the next installment of the After Dunkirk series.
Click here to purchase EAGLES OVER BRITAIN now
Eagles Over Britain
Click here to purchase EAGLES OVER BRITAIN now
Author’s Note
The tapestry that is the history of World War II boggles the mind in contemplating what is generally known about it. Common knowledge of it is a tiny fraction of the full scope of accomplishment by courageous men and women who sacrificed their fortunes and their lives to bring in the cause of freedom. I learned that in researching for this series of books of which AFTER DUNKIRK is the first. For example, little is known about the sinking of the HMT Lancastria, and I have taken particular pains to describe that tragic event and pay respect to the memories of those lost, those who suffered through it and survived, and their affected families.
When my publisher suggested that I write about the war, and despite that the genre always appealed to me, I was sure that all that could be written probably had already been published. When I dug in, I found myself awed by the contributions of people at critical turning points in the war—there were so many of them, but their names are seldom known or mentioned.
One such person was Yvette Lundy, a Resistance fighter who died in late 2019. An article about her appeared in the news in late 2019. I found her story intriguing: as a schoolteacher in Épernay, France, she had been a forger, producing false documents for refugees from the Nazis, and she worked with the Possum Escape Line to help downed pilots, separated soldiers, and escaped POWs evade capture. Eventually she was arrested and held in the notorious Ravensbruck prison camp, being released at the end of the war.
In researching the Possum line, I learned of myriad other networks across Europe. Some were set up to help refugees and escapees; others to engage in sabotage. Many were developed with outside help from the Allies. Others sprang up independently. One book I acquired for research covered a single network. That book was 800 pages long, and each page listed entries: names, dates, and places; no narrative details.
Isolated stories abound. The English Channel Isles’ lie very close to France, one of which is Sark Island. Only recently has it changed its government from a feudal to a democratic form. And yet, through most of its history, the people of Sark have loved their way of life and their governing system. During the war, the real Dame of Sark, Sibyl Hathaway and her husband anticipated that Germany would occupy the Isles, and they planned to meet that challenge. A sad note about their story is that they lost a son during the Blitz.
A point of
