Trapped in Tunisia, Troubled by Bears and Other Events

TRAPPED IN TUNISIA When the editor of Canada's Legion Magazine suggested that I produce a memoir on the air war in the Mediterranean, I wrongly assumed that he was interested in fiction. The story I produced, Dressed For Battle, was therefore based on my own experience but credited to the fictitious Ferret Plumley. Dressed For Battle was well enough received to lead to a series of reminiscences which also covered my stay in Malta. But do not be surprised if you are suddenly transported to the Algerian Sahara Desert where I spent a year imprisoned by barbed wire as the guest of the Vichy French. And please do not be nonplussed by references to "Swordfish." The Swordfish was (and still is in many museums) a pre-WW2 open cockpit biplane known facetiously as the Stringbag, because of its strut and fabric construction. However, it has the distinction of sinking more enemy shipping than any other type of allied aircraft. Freddie Nottingham and I usually flew together; he the pilot, I the observer. The pilot was usually referred to as the Driver, while my job was to do the navigation, operate the radio and communicate in morse code. Malta is a small island remote from everywhere. Getting home safely from a night operation was always my major concern, so navigation was the most important of my duties. Another important duty did materialize on one occasion, and it led to the story of The Red Handle. The stories that follow are all based on similar adventures. After my release from captivity I was involved in the Pacific Theatre, where the enemy liked to indulge in suicide attacks on our ships. Kamikaze is the story of one such attack. TROUBLED BY BEARS AND OTHER EVENTS The closest perusal of a British Columbia map will never reveal the location of Jackass Creek. The village, the events recorded in the following stories and the characters involved are all fiction. I wrote the stories in my own Jackass Creek during a halcyon summer, shaded by a giant grape vine and suitably cooled by appropriate refreshment. I hope they will give the reader some insight into village life before Facebook and Twitter.