WW II Air War 7Early morning darkness was total as we
stumbled cursing from the mess at Uden in the
Netherlands. It was the sort of darkness you can
feel. The truck waiting to carry us to the airfield
at Volkel had a shield over its headlights, and
only a minimum of the muddy rutted road was
dimly lit. This carriage way was the lifeline for the
army as they moved their tanks and equipment
to the Rhine front, not far away. By the time we
reached the airfield and entered the dispersal,
there was a suggestion of light on the Eastern
horizon. The fresh smell of early morning fought to
survive against the all-consuming stench of the
high-octane fuel and the odor of cordite from the
starter cartridges lingering in the atmosphere. We
entered the dark and smoky dispersal; the smoke
came from the little stove lit by the timekeepers
who slept there. A lamp or two gave sufficient light
for our leader, Keith Taylor-Cannon from Alexan-
dra, known to us all as ‘Hyphen,’ to brief us on the
fighter sweep we were about to undertake around
Münster, Rheine and Osnabrück in Germany. The in-
telligence officer then prattled on for a bit, enjoy-
ing his moment of power.