Between work and some problems getting the new installation to recognise my rudders, I have not caught up with everyone's stories and apologise for my inability to comment at this time. I have flown my first mission in BH&H2 a day early and I attach this quick update…
War Journal of Flight Commander George Ewan MacAlister, DSO, DSC 208 Squadron, RAF Serny, France
Part 34
After three days at the CCS, the medical powers prepared to bundle me off to a stationary hospital to complete my recovery. But the shop was not too busy and one day led into another until 7 April when all hell broke loose. On that day seven German divisions fell upon the small Portuguese division that was holding the line in our sector and threw them and a supporting British division back. My first intimation of our dire situation was some nervous chatter among the nursing sisters. Then one, another, and a hundred more Portuguese soldiers appeared at our doorway looking for food. They were dishevelled and ragged and for the most part without arms or accoutrements. According to the few that spoke any English the Germans were following close behind. By noon I was bundled onto an ambulance and driven through thick fog west towards Saint Omer. There I lay on a siding until nearly midnight, after which I was loaded onto a hospital train bound for Boulogne.
Of my beloved Naval Eight I heard nothing until much later. Then I learned that Squadron Commander – now Major – Draper had been the last to leave La Gorgue that day. With the fog grounding the squadron he had all our fine Bentley-engined machines pushed together in the middle of the field and he put the torch to them all! By the time he left, the Huns were within small arms range of our aerodrome. It must have been an agonising decision and one certain to be second-guessed by those far from the smell of powder.
In any event, I spent another week in Boulogne and was cleared to rejoin the squadron, which by this point had relocated to Serny. This was a very large aerodrome, which we shared with three other squadrons: 18, 22, and 103. We had been fully re-equipped with by the time I arrived back on 13 April, albeit with Clerget-engined Camels. We miss our naval supply system!
I now share a hunt with Cooper, White, and Dennett. Unfortunately we have lost our gramophone and record collection in the retreat, not to mention most of our furniture. According to White, we will have no problem keeping our “backs to the wall” as General Haig has encouraged us, since we have no armchairs to lean them on.
14 April 1918 was my first time back up and I was slated for only a single mission – a defensive patrol over the area west of La Gorgue where we understood the front line to be. There were scattered rain showers below a layer of cloud at 5000 feet. We climbed above to discover large groups of enemy two seaters milling about and taking turns dropping bombs wherever there was a gap in the cloud layer. We were able to isolate a few of the Huns and bagged two of them, the credit going to Fowler and Griffiths, a new man.
