Part VIII ~ Joining the Maquis Late on Friday night, when all was quiet, Paul Bodet arrived with his father. I was all ready to go with them, dressed in my shabby ill-fitting clothes and wearing a beret. I said good-bye to my hosts and tried to express the gratitude which I felt. No hospitality could ever mean more to me than theirs did. I am sure they must have been relieved to see me go, considering the tremendous risks they ran in harbouring me. Had the Germans found out, they assuredly would have shot the mand might have burned their house. As I walked through the snow with the Bodets, I smiled as I reflected on my new personality. Here I was, Jaques Clapin, French citizen, complete with identity and ration cards. The only relic of my old life which I retained was my wrist watch on which was engraved was my real name, and underneath it R.A.A.F. I wore it the whole time I was in France The Bodets had a small house on the main road at the canal bridge. Before the war it had been a cafe -here I spent a very cold night. We rose at 5.30 next morning and had a breakfast of coffee, milk and bread. At 6 o’clock a bus started out from this little village to Nancy, a distance of about45 miles. When Bodet, Pere and I got on we were the only passengers. The bus was driven by a charcoal burner and we stopped at various villages on the way, picking up and discharging passengers. At one place, which was a small town, we stopped in front of a cafe and everybody proceeded to get out. However “mon oncle” who did not speak a word of English, succeeded in making me understand that he wanted me to remain in my place. So there I was, alone in the bus for perhaps ten minutes, hoping to Heaven that nobody would come and ask me any questions. Had anyone done so I would, of course, have played up to my role of deaf mute ! Great was my relief when I saw the passengers return to the bus, but I was not so pleased when I saw a German soldier a Corporal with a wing on his tunic, amongst them. Describing this incident later to some Maquisards, I was told that this man probably came from one of the listening posts on the mountains nearby, and possibly he was on some duty or mission in connection with our fallen plane. When at last we reached Nancy it was pouring with rain. We left the bus on the outskirts of the city and walked for about20 minutes until we reached the central square or place. On our way we met numerous Germans in uniform, and whenever we did we gave them as wide a berth as possible. On reaching the Place (des Voges) we walked over to a large building exactly opposite the Hotel deVille -this was the headquarters of the German Command in this very important city. Sentries were posted outside and there was a great deal of military activity. It was difficult to look anywhere without seeing a Swastika . . .
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 03:12:26 +0000
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