James Bond's Boyhood Adventures 6

By Pueros

(With thanks again to Erik, whose imaginative mind is behind some of the descriptions in this saga.)

Chapter 6 – Questions

(Jersey, Channel Islands, September 1940)

It was now that the presumption of James, John and David that Moneypenny’s nature might make him unsuitable to be of help in their sabotage activities was really proved to be false and that instead the effeminate red-headed boy was indeed a worthy member of ‘Jerm’.

On seeing Oberjunker Ernst Stavro Blofeld of the Hitler Youth emerge with his armed driver from the S.S. limousine, and appreciating that they had noticed the young saboteurs in the German army transport compound, Moneypenny took quick courageous action. The boy no longer chatted to and smiled alluringly at the Wehrmacht guard but instead kicked him in the balls.

Naturally, as the lecherous soldier collapsed to the ground in agony, dropping his rifle as he did so in order to clutch his pained genitalia, he was somewhat shocked by the girl’s sudden change in attitude towards him. Their conversation had never hinted at such a turn of events.

Moneypenny, who had never held a gun in his hands previously, nevertheless boldly picked up the guard’s discarded weapon and pointed it at Blofeld’s driver who, along with the Oberjunker, was still distracted by observing what the schoolboys in the transport yard were doing.

“Drop the gun and hands up,” Moneypenny shouted, using the German he had recently learnt, “or I fire!” The surprised young member of the Hitler Youth and his driver turned to see who was making this command. They were even more surprised to discover that it was a rather pretty young pupil from St. Helier High School for Girls who was pointing a rifle at them, with a Wehrmacht soldier writhing on the ground at her feet.

“I mean it,” Moneypenny commanded, with as much menace as he could muster, “drop the gun or else!” The driver had to make a quick decision. Should he take the chance that the young girl was unskilled in the use of the rifle and take his own aim to shoot her or should he do what she had ordered?

The unarmed Blofeld, basically a coward at heart, was of no help in formulating the answer, as he was speechlessly rooted to the spot, terrified by the thought that the girl might kill him. The driver therefore came to his own speedy conclusion, considering the whole scene not sufficiently worthwhile to take the risk of being hit by a bullet. He dropped his gun, an act influenced by not knowing why the Wehrmacht guard was writhing on the floor as, for all he knew, the diminutive young female might already have shot the man.

Meanwhile, James, John and David had heard Moneypenny’s shouts and immediately appreciated that the enemy had discovered their sabotage activities. However, the older Bond was perceptive enough to realise that it was important to try to hide their faces in the hope that the Germans, who could only have seen them from a distance, might not recognise them later when they visited their school. The latter would be inevitable, as the boys were wearing their school uniforms, which was easily identifiable. Although they were playing truant, they had had to leave their homes that morning as if they were on their way to their college in order to hide from their mothers their true intentions.

Accordingly, James told his brother and friend to put their hands in front of their faces as they ran to rejoin Moneypenny, whom they now saw was bravely holding three uniformed Germans at bay with a rifle. When the three boys reached their red-haired friend, having visually navigated by virtue of gaps between their fingers, the newly reunited quartet began to back off slowly from the scene until they believed that they had achieved sufficient distance to alter their progress to a headlong sprint.

Blofeld’s driver now picked up his gun and fired a few shots at the fleeing boys and girl but, although the young saboteurs felt bullets whistle past them before ricocheting off walls in the otherwise quiet road, fortuitously none of the young targets was hit.

The boys were also fortunate in that the driver paused to check on the welfare of the still prone Wehrmacht guard before giving chase, as his delay caused him to lose the quartet in the myriad of surrounding narrow streets and alleyways. Moneypenny’s bold bluff had saved them, as he had to admit to his friends afterwards that he doubted whether he could have fired, at least not accurately, the rifle, now hidden in an outbuilding in the garden of the Bonds’ cottage. This assumption was later proved correct. In a test firing in a remote quiet location, the newest recruit to ‘Jerm’, fell flat on his backside as a result of the recoil from the weapon and the bullet had missed the target at which he was aiming by 20 yards. Nevertheless, for his quick thinking and fortitude, the brave 13 years old was awarded the first medal to be issued by the now four-strong juvenile resistance group. He was very proud to accept the decoration, even if it was actually a campaign medal for the 2nd Boer War of 1899-1902, in which the Bonds’ late grandfather had fought.

As the boys made their, at least for now, successful escape, the cowardly Blofeld had remained behind, still quaking with fear but also vowing terrible retribution.

Despite being prematurely interrupted, the activities of James, John and David in the transport compound had still been fulsome and caused the Germans much time and trouble to repair the damage to many tyres. Wehrmacht activities were also disrupted for a while by a lack of vehicles. Sturmbannfuhrer Stromberg of the Waffen S.S. was therefore invited by the commander of the occupation forces, the Feldkommandant, to discover the identities of the young saboteurs who, after capture, could be punished most severely. The incident was considered sufficiently troublesome and malicious for the culprits not to enjoy the benefits of the Fuhrer’s directive about treating Channel Islanders with restraint.

Sturmbannfuhrer Stromberg of the Waffen S.S. was naturally helped in his quest by Oberjunker Ernst Stavro Blofeld of the Hitler Youth, a key witness to the crime who had delayed his return to Dinard in order to assist the hunt for the young saboteurs. The 15 years old’s motivation was actually principally stimulated by a vengeful desire to have the three boys and one girl suspended naked from the ceiling in a cellar of S.S. headquarters so that he could interrogate and punish them in his own special way. He was especially looking forward to removing the whole of the young males’ genitalia so that their bodies began to resemble that of their female companion. He thought that particular conclusion to many other tortures would be most appropriate for making him look so cowardly and foolish outside the Wehrmacht compound.

Stromberg’s investigation, assisted by young Blofeld, did not begin well. They had decided to try to identify the young female first because a good close-up view of her face had been obtained and she was known to be a pupil of St. Helier High School for Girls. However, after every single pupil, even those off sick, had been checked, no miscreant had been found, something the investigators found very puzzling.

Stromberg and Blofeld therefore hoped to have better luck in finding the three young male saboteurs at the equivalent school for boys, even though none of the three Germans who had seen them had gained a good sight of their faces. However, after an earlier incident, the Sturmbannfuhrer knew who should be interviewed first.

Stromberg requisitioned not only the headmaster’s office for the initial questioning of James, John and David but also his chair, with Blofeld sitting nearby. After the three tremulous boys, who feared the worst after being picked out first for interrogation, had been brought into the room, the Sturmbannfuhrer turned to the young Oberjunker and asked in German “Well, is this them?”

Blofeld stood up and walked slowly around the delectable petrified trio, all attired in their school uniforms of red blazer and tie, white buttoned shirt, short grey shorts, long grey socks and immaculately polished black laced shoes. The Oberjunker wished that the beautiful threesome could be the young saboteurs, as he pictured in his own mind the boys being suspended naked from a certain ceiling waiting for hours of torture, followed by nullification. Unfortunately, the 15 years old could not be sure that the pupils were the culprits and accordingly advised the Sturmbannfuhrer, in his native tongue, of his uncertainty.

The fact that the two Nazis were talking in German intensified the boys’ deep apprehension, as, without Moneypenny, none of the members of ‘Jerm’ knew the language and so could not translate what was being discussed. All wondered whether they had been identified already and the enemy duo was just debating the trio’s terrible fate. Their fears might have increased further if they had been able to comprehend the eager Oberjunker’s offer to the Sturmbannfuhrer to interrogate them in his own way in S.S. headquarters, although they would also have been quickly relieved to hear the S.S. officer’s answer. “Unfortunately,” the latter had replied, “without more evidence, we shall have to comply with the Fuhrer’s edict about the treatment of the Channel Islanders.”

The immediate concerns of James, John and David seemed to be alleviated when the Sturmbannfuhrer began to ask them some questions in his heavily accented English, as it was then obvious that the young man and his evil-looking younger companion were at least uncertain as to the pupils’ involvement in the latest act of sabotage. However, the acute worries of two of the young islander trio soon returned when the S.S. officer sought the answer to one particular question.

Stromberg had asked the boys where they were at the time the sabotage took place. James, as usual, answered on behalf of himself and his brother and friend. “Here in school,” he replied confidently but John and David immediately recognised that this was a blunder when the Sturmbannfuhrer responded with the statement “Good, but I hope that you don’t mind if I check the school register to verify this.”

John and David knew that they would be recorded as being absent in the register because they had played truant that day, and so James’ lie would not only be found out but also put the trio back in the spotlight as prime suspects. However, Stromberg did not perform his check immediately and, after a few more questions, the boys were dismissed.

As they returned to their classes, David pointed out to James his terrible mistake but received the surprising response from his friend of “Ye of little faith!” “What do you mean?” the former asked of the latter before both he and John were mightily relieved to receive the reply.

“I’m sorry,” James advised, “I forgot to mention that I asked some others to shout ‘Here’ when our teachers read out our names for morning and afternoon registration. It seems that they succeeded in the delusion and it’s why you haven’t been asked for a parental note to explain your absence!” The weight of worry suddenly being lifted off the minds of David and John caused them to look at each other before bursting out into loud laughter, for which they received a reprimand from a teacher they passed in the corridor.

James, John and David were not laughing later when all pupils of the school were told to assemble in long lines in the large schoolyard, as the Germans involved in the sabotage incident, Blofeld, the S.S. driver and the Wehrmacht guard, accompanied by Stromberg, closely reviewed the parade. The enemy quartet was walking along the lines of schoolboys examining each young face in an effort to identify the three male saboteurs. They were therefore surprised when one particular pretty visage caught the eye of the three witnesses.

After a short conversation between the Germans, Stromberg walked up to Moneypenny and asked a question. “Do you have a sister?” the S.S. officer enquired.

(To be continued in chapter 7 – ‘V’)