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45 pages

English

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Could World War Two have been avoided and history rewritten? In August 1939, a group of political dissidents flee from Britain to avoid arrest because of their opposition to the war with Germany. Their belief that the war, and the expected loss of life, could have been avoided, has made them fugitives from their own country. Finding refuge in Dublin, where they are safe from arrest by the British authorities, they set out their case against the war. But one of their number fails to make it to Dublin. Eventually, one of the group makes a dangerous journey back to London to find out what has happened, and ends up making a dramatic rescue attempt. A story with two distinct themes. The first about dissidents who faced being arrested without trial under the Emergency Powers Act, which was rushed through Parliament in August 1939; the second explores the possibility that alternative courses of action might have avoided the necessity of war. The two themes are united by the shadow of totalitarianism which darkened Europe at that time, in Britain as well as on the continent.

Sujets

Dublín

Historical fiction

Dublin

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Publié par	Troubador Publishing Ltd
Date de parution	28 novembre 2020
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781800467712
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Copyright © 2020 Carl Richardson

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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ISBN 978 1800467 712

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Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd

Born and brought up in West Cumbria Carl Richardson studied at Manchester Polytechnic and Newcastle University. He spent most of his working life as a civil servant. Now retired, he lives in Cumbria and writes novels in his retirement.

Cover image: Carlisle Citadel
Photo by the author
Contents

One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
One

London, Tuesday 22 nd August 1939
The bells of St Clement Danes Church were sounding the quarter hour for a quarter past midday when Robert Aldcroft walked across the Strand and into Essex Street. Fifty yards down the street, he climbed the steps to the entrance to Ridley and Cooper, chartered accountants, who occupied the ground floor of a tall, narrow, mid-terrace building. He rang the bell, and after a minute the door was opened by a young man in a well-pressed suit.
“Yes, can I help?”
“I was hoping to see Mr Harvey, George Harvey, if he’s free. My name’s Robert Aldcroft. He’s not expecting me, but it’s a matter of some importance.”
“Mr Harvey’s with a client at the moment, but I expect he’ll be taking his lunch shortly, if you’d care to wait.”
“I’d be grateful if you could let him know that I’m here.”
The young man showed Aldcroft to a small waiting room, where he sat down. After ten minutes or so, he heard voices outside. He recognised George Harvey’s voice – he was evidently taking leave of his client. A few moments later, Harvey appeared in the doorway of the waiting room. He looked surprised.
“I thought…” he began.
“Come in and close the door.”
George Harvey did so.
“I thought the rule was that members of the group were not supposed to be seen together in public,” Harvey said.
“I know, but this is an emergency. I’ve got some bad news.” Aldcroft paused. “I hardly know where to begin. The crisis is upon us. There will be war in the next two or three days. We’ve received information, which is being treated as reliable, that the Germans will attack Poland this weekend. Parliament is being recalled for an emergency session tomorrow to pass a national security Act. I’m not sure what it will be called, but it will allow the authorities to round up and detain, without trial, anyone they don’t like. The Act will come into force as soon as it’s passed tomorrow. That’s the reason I’m here now. I’ve been shown a list of people who are going to be detained under the Act. I can’t say by whom, for obvious reasons, but I have every reason to believe that the list is genuine. As well as many other names, I saw that it contained the names of several members of our group, National Renaissance. I had to memorise the names. I couldn’t write them down – again, for obvious reasons. As well as you and Christine, there was Geoff and Sylvia, Graham, and also me.”
George Harvey sat down on one of the waiting room chairs, as if he suddenly needed support.
“Arrested? We’re going to be arrested?”
“Arrested – detained – I’m not sure what they’ll call it. But it won’t be like a conventional arrest, where you’re charged pending a trial. There won’t be any trials. People will just be arrested and locked up, presumably for the duration of the war. According to what I’ve been told, the Act they’re going to rush through Parliament tomorrow will suspend civil liberties – suspend Habeas Corpus . It’ll give the authorities the power of arbitrary arrest and detention without trial.”
“Then… in that case, their moral bankruptcy is finally complete. As well as wanting to be warmongers, they want to be dictators as well. What are we to do?”
“There isn’t a lot of choice. If we stay, we’ll be rounded up and interned. The alternatives are to go into hiding, or leave the country.”
“Leave the country?”
“It may sound daunting, but I think it’s the best option. Going into hiding might sound easier, but you’d be committing yourself to the life of a fugitive, either constantly on the run, or constantly in fear of discovery and arrest. It’d be difficult to lead a civilised existence because you’d always have to be ready to flee at a moment’s notice. Leaving the country is the only safe option. I don’t know if you knew, but Mike Warren has a house in Dublin, which he bought last year for just this eventuality. Mike’s name wasn’t on the list I saw, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t in danger. I’m going to contact Mike this afternoon to warn him of what’s happening, but also to ask if he’d be prepared to put up temporarily those of us whose names are on the list, until we can arrange alternative accommodation in Dublin.”
“Dublin? Would we be safe there?”
“Yes, I think so. I had a conversation with Mike when he told me about his house there, and he said that there’s no chance that the Irish would extradite anyone to Britain for political reasons. Not after all that’s happened in the last twenty years or so. So, we’ll be as safe there as anywhere.”
“I see. How much time have we got?”
“To be honest, none at all. They’re going to rush this Act through Parliament tomorrow, which means that it’ll be on the Statute Book by the end of the day. That means that they could start making arrests as early as tomorrow evening. Those of us who are on the list at least, need to go as soon as possible.”
George Harvey was silent for a moment before speaking.
“I suppose it’s not entirely unexpected, given the nature of the political situation. We already have to take precautions in case the authorities take action against us. One always hoped that it would never happen, even while knowing that it’s an ever-present danger. But it’s still a shock, now that it’s happened. Suddenly to have to pack one’s whole life up, with scarcely any time to think. It’s hard to come to terms with. I mean, what about my position here at the firm if I just leave without warning?”
Robert Aldcroft shook his head.
“That’s the wrong way of looking at it. Your name was on that list. If you do nothing, you’ll be interned, possibly as early as tomorrow evening. That would certainly end your position here. If you keep your freedom by leaving the country, then you maintain at least the possibility of salvaging something eventually. Once you’re locked up in Wormwood Scrubs or wherever they incarcerate political prisoners, there’ll be no possibility of salvaging anything.”
“Yes, I see. Dublin. We must go to Dublin tomorrow?”
“No later than tomorrow. You, Christine and the children as well. Christine’s name was also on the list.”
“So you said. Dublin. The boat train for Ireland goes from Euston, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, but there may not be enough time for that. It’s a measure of the urgency of the situation. My recommendation is that you travel by aeroplane.”
“Aeroplane! I’ve never flown before.”
“I think it’s the only way you’re going to be sure of getting out in time. I’ve gathered a bit of information together and jotted it down.” He handed George Harvey a piece of paper. “There are two flights a day from Croydon to Dublin, flown by the Irish airline Aer Lingus. They don’t have an office in London for some reason, so you have to book tickets through other airlines, which act as agents. You should book through the Dutch airline KLM. They have an office on Horseferry Road. Don’t book through Imperial Airways, or any British airline. They may pass information about passenger bookings on to the authorities. KLM isn’t likely to do that. I’ve booked tickets for Mary and myself for tomorrow afternoon’s flight. The morning flight tomorrow is already fully booked, but there are still seats available on the afternoon flight. I advise you to do that now, without delay. I can’t overstate the urgency of the matter.”
“Yes, I understand. And thank you for coming to tell me. If we need to let everyone know, I could contact Geoff and Sylvia and Elizabeth this afternoon, if that would help.”
“Yes, I’d be grateful if you could. I’m going to speak to Mike Warren and Duncan Watkinson this afternoon. Duncan’s the only person who will be able to contact Graham Shepherd in time, so it’s important I speak to him.”
“What about trying to contact him by telephone?”
Robert Aldcroft shook his head.
“I don’t want to break the rule about telephones, even in this situation. As long as I can speak to Duncan this afternoon, I’m confident we can warn Gr