Everyone has a first day!

France 1940.

Kaptain Hirst put his arm around the young pilot’s shoulder and said,

“So tomorrow your first mission! Good for you my little brother!”

The fresh faced Lieutenant stood upright in his crisp new German pilots uniform and saluted his elder brother then shakily sat down and drunk greedily from his confiscated French wine. Lt Hirst said to his brother,

“Tomorrow I will shoot down a Spitfire! My cannons will blow him apart! the Spitfire is nothing but a race horse, it has no teeth! And is made of candle wax!”

Kaptain Hirst pushed the wine glass away from his younger brother and said quietly in his ear,

“Brother you drink anymore and you will not be allowed to fly stop now, I’m not taking my younger brother into battle drunk. Oh and do you really believe what they told you at the flying school? Spitfire’s have no teeth! They are race horses at best? Let me tell you something little brother, You respect your enemy! The Spitfire is a superb aircraft. Some of them now have cannons too, and the ones that don’t have 8 machine guns in their wings! Get that college crap out of your brain else you wont be home for dinner tomorrow!”

The young Lt bowed his head and reached for his wine, Hirst picked it up and threw the glass into the fire place, and he continued,

“Brother we go up at 7.00am you stick to my wing ok? Do not leave me regardless of the enemy. If and I mean if we get separated and you are engaged by a Hurricane or Spitfire head for the deck! I mean it firewall the throttle and jink left then right never stop moving. You can out run the enemy but only just, don’t gain height the Spitfire can out turn you. You remember my words my drunken little brother”

England 1940

Eddie Smith supped on his warm bitter in the Rose and Crown just outside Duxford. Eddie’s Sergeant came over to him and said,

“Smith, your first day tomorrow on guard duty at the base, well done your only 17 for crying out loud! They send me babies!”

PFC Smith pulled at his pint and said,