The Lost Band of Brothers by Tom Keene Read Free Book Online

the number of strides to take per minute is fixed and the people you’re next door to are fixed and it goes on and on and on and on and on and on. 15

    Their men selected, ‘B’ Troop under Capt. March-Phillipps moved to a large, requisitioned house in Newmarket, east of Cambridge, where the men slept eight to a room. Apple shared with John Colville; March-Phillipps had a room to himself. The place was entirely unfurnished except for tables and benches. There was a bathroom with running water. None of it was hot. The officers ate the same good food as the men, prepared for them by two cooks loaned from the Provost Company. But they were not there to stay indoors. They were there to work outside in all weathers, to get fit and prepare themselves for an as yet undisclosed strategic purpose:

    One of our first objects is to get really fit! Think of it – training again! I’ve been longing to do that for months! Cross-country runs, P.T., up early, riding in the mornings (by the way, I’ve been out 6 to 8 a.m. for the last seven mornings now), getting really fit is to be one of the first objects for all. Then map-reading, night patrol and compass work in unknown country by night will all come into the training which is going to be very strenuous. Think of it – a job that is operational instead of purely paper work!

    Unit transport consisted of March-Phillipps’ own private motor car – a 30–98 Velox – two motorcycles and a single 30-hundredweight lorry. But they did not use them much. Whenever the unit went anywhere they marched: ‘Our primary object is to get as tough as possible. When we finally move from here to a new location on the coast we shall walk – 60 or 70 miles – in two or three days, bivouacking at night in barns and haylofts and living on our ration allowance.’ Apple took to the life immediately, writing home in early August:

    This life is absolutely terrific. There is something about the fellowship and hardship and toughness of it that appeals to me enormously … there is such a tremendous spirit of keenness, smartness and discipline in the Troop, that I know these Commando units are going to mean something … We have got a grand crowd of chaps, keen as mustard, exceptionally fit physically and very alert mentally.

    A typical day’s schedule for ‘B’ Troop whilst they were at Newmarket began with reveille at 0630 followed by a 1-mile training run and PT. Breakfast at 0800 was followed by a parade and inspection at 0900 before a two-hour, fast-paced route march interspersed with cross-country work, map reading and compass work, moving through cover and crossing obstacles. Lunch at 1300 was followed by an hour and a half’s break before ninety minutes of swimming, running or exercising. Tea was at 1630 followed by a unit lecture given by March-Phillipps that lasted from 1700 to 1745. Commented Apple:

    A fairly full day and hard work, but makes one feel grand, even though a little stiff! Later, of course, there will be weapon training, range practice, cross-country runs, hare and hounds, treasure hunts, mock operations, night operations, etc. The training programme can and will be made more fascinating.

    It would not all be hare and hounds, or treasure hunts, and Apple knew it. Increasingly, he was thinking of what must surely lie ahead, of leading the men he had picked, and whom he regarded now so highly, into action, into danger. A little later that same year he wrote home to his family: ‘Don’t pray for my safety or for my speedy return, but pray that I am alive to my responsibilities, courageous in danger and that I have the strength to do my bit of the job to the utmost. Remember – I am responsible for 25 men – I mustn’t let them down.’ 16
    That particular letter was written at the tail end of the year and by then ‘B’ Troop, No 7 Commando, had moved north to Scotland for boat training. By then Appleyard’s regard, respect and affection for his commanding officer