Secret Army (1977–1979): Season 1, Episode 11 - A Question of Loyalty - full transcript
Sorry, strict orders. Nobody is to go in until the Army intelligence have been over the crash.
They're looking for technical equipment.
Gestapo.Let us through.
- Sir.
Kessler. You were told to expect me.
- They're over there, sir.
- Bring your torch.
I'm afraid only three of the bodies are identifiable, sir.
Part of the plane exploded when it crashed.
There is another body burned beyond all recognition.
All we've managed to recover of the tail Gunner is.. Well, I'm sorry Sir, but...
It's not your fault, is it OberLeutnant?
- No, Sir, but..
You were not personally responsible for the aircraft coming down in this particular way in this particular field were you?
No Sir.
- Then don't apologize.
You've found sufficient bits and pieces to be able to give me your complete assurance that the entire crew was killed in the crash.
Without doubt Sir, we have accounted quite definitely for all five crew members.
Hurry up, man.
These three. Have you established their positions in the aircraft.
The pilot and the bomb aimer, Sir, and we think the Navigator. It's impossible to say.
All three of them are very badly burned.
Show me the first.
This was the pilot, Sir.
A flight Sergeant.
His name?
Every moment is vital, OberLeutnant. His name and number.
129477. Allardyce, J.J.
- Next?
The bomb aimer sir. Again, in sergeant's uniform.
1449811, Clifton MG.
His name is Maurice Clifton.
We found the remnants of a letter in his pocket.
This one will do. Give me his tags.
- Sir?
His identification tags OberLeutnant. Hand them to me.
Will that be all sir?
- Yes.
No, show me the last one.
- We can only assume that he's the Navigator.
There was nothing left of his uniform.
And his flesh is burned to the bone.
Show him to me, Oberleutnant.
Look at him OberLeutnant.
It is the face of the enemy.
It is the face of defeat.
It is the face of death.
Isn't that what we all wish to see?
Goodnight, Stefan. Good night
Corporal Köhler.
Next year, when it's your 23rd birthday.
Let me know in good time.
And I'll make sure we're closed.
Sarah, do you know what the time is?
He's married Monique?
I found out.
I didn't believe it at first, but tonight he admitted it.
He has a wife in Leipzig. They have a little girl.
They've all got wives. Didn't you know? In Leipzig, Berlin, Dresden, Cologne.
The ones that have got wives at the lucky ones. The ones that haven't got wives have got widows.
There is a war on.
Don't cry on my shoulder. Not tonight.
It's been a long day. I'm tired and we're closed. Come on.
Goodnight, Monique.
Forget his wife. Leipzig's a long way away.
Where? Near Roselare?
What the whole consignment smashed?
Well, there's nothing we can do, is there?
Well, let me know when you're expecting another delivery. Alright. Yeah, goodbye.
Anti aircraft battery brought down another Wellington tonight near Rosalare. No survivors.
Five more men with widows. Where today I wonder? Manchester? Birmingham? Oxford?
What are you talking about?
Sarah. She's just discovered her German Sergeant has a wife in Leipzig.
What's that to me?
Nothing to you, Albert. But she thought it was worth getting drunk for.
Leipzig! Your wife is here. She lives above my head.
Half the time I actually think she's inside it.
We're not gonna start that all over again, are we?
- No, not tonight Albert.
I went up to her five minutes ago. She's taken a sleeping pill. She's fast asleep.
We're not going to start that again tonight either.
Why not?
- Because I'm tired.
Because suddenly it's not enough. Having her asleep upstairs.
I wish she wasn't asleep Albert. I wish she was dead. I do. I really do.
I wish your wife was dead.
I'm going home.
If you want to leave those glasses, I'll do them in the morning.
And where were you educated?
- In Chiswick. My father owned a grocery shop in Chiswick High Road.
I was educated at the Grammar School. I took my HSC. Higher School Certificate.
And then onto University. Oxford or Cambridge? Which college?
I didn't go on to University. I went to the Regent polytechnic.
I was going to be a building surveyor. When the war broke out I was studying for my RICS finals.
- RICS?
Royal Institute of Chartered
Surveyors.
Why did you join the RAF?
- I got to Sergeant in the air training corps at Grammar School.
It's tonight. The situation is perfect. There were no survivors and there are no reports so far of any other British aircraft losses.
Excellent.
And how does Untersturmführer Stoller stand up to interrogation?
Flawlessly? As yet I haven't found a single loophole in his story.
You won't. Question him all night. He's told you the exact truth about his background.Am I right Untersturmführer?
Sir. Except for the fact that it wasn't my father's shop. It belonged to my uncle.
My parents were both killed in a train accident near Dusseldorf when I was a child.
I was brought up by my father's sister. She had married an Englishman. I chose to return to the Reich in 1938.
Yes, of course.
These are yours. Memorize the name and number before you put them on.
1449811.
1449811
- And the name?
Clifton M. What does the initial stand for?
- Maurice. Maurice Clifton
And the number again one number
149811 - Sergeant Maurice Clifton.
- Excellent.
Whatever happens, you are entirely alone.
You will make no attempt to contact us.
- We will make no attempt to contact you.
Yes, Sir, we've been through all that many times.
- We will go through it once again.
Now when you leave this car, you will become in every sense of the word, a member of the RAF.
You are attempting to get back to England and that is your entire brief Untersturmführer.
You will obey their rules. You will travel only by night. You will remain hidden by day.
You will make it your duty to evade all of our forces, even if by so doing they fire on you.
Now, if you are picked up by the resistance. When you are picked up by the resistance.
You will go along with everything they say.
You will allow them to send you along their line all the way into Spain or Switzerland.
Then, and not until then, when you are in possession of a complete breakdown of their entire escape line.
You will report back to me. You understand?
- Of course sir.
- Good.
How far are we from the crashed aircraft?
- About half a kilometer?
Now it will be light in one hour. You will keep on the move until then.
- Yes.
Good luck Untersturmführer.
It will be a dangerous game, but I know that you have the strength for it.
Be sure of that.
Oh before you go. Just one thing. Pass me that briefcase would you, from the back seat?
Ernst. It's for your own good.
They are more likely to accept if you were wounded.
Do you understand?
Good.
I'm proud of you Untersturmführer Stoller.
Help me to smash this line and the SS will have cause too to be proud of you.
Are you ready?
You came from that direction. You were heading there.
Heil Hitler.
What weather.
I'm shan't be going far today.
I don't mind telling you.
No, Albert, not far.
Only up and down those stairs at least 100 times.
Who are you? What are you doing here?
Help me, please.
English... RAF... Wellington...
Shot down...
It was, I swear to you, it was. The night before last.
There were no planes brought down round here the night before last night.
I was. A Wellington. I was the bomb aimer Clifton, Sergeant 1449811.
Isn't there some way you can have that checked. I was shot down the night before last.
Where?
- I don't know. It's hard to say.
I followed the railway lines all last night.
Probably Southwest of here.
The only plane that was brought down Southwest of us the night before last was over 15 miles away.
Wellington?
Can't you get word to the resistance people in Brussels? Surely they could check my story.
They're on their way. If you're lying, pray they don't arrive too soon.
It's the truth for Heaven's sake. If it was a Wellington that was my plane.
A report came through there were no survivors.
- There weren't apart from me.
She broke in half as we crash landed. Fuselage went up in flames.
I was lucky to escape with just a broken arm.
I watched the Jerries pulling out the bodies. As soon as they'd cleared off, I started walking.
You expect us to believe that you walked more than 15 miles with a broken arm?
If you don't believe me, look at my feet.
Blisters don't lie.
Don't you think you ought to attend to his arm first?
Monique. We understood that Al...
- ...He was. Something came up.
What's the difficulty here?
- Not too sure that this one is what he says he is.
I'm RAF. Clifton Sergeant 1449811.
nThey won't believe me. I came down in a Wellington two nights ago.
The rest of the crew?
- The plane broke up as soon as it hit the ground.
The fuselage went up in flames. The back half was a total write off.
I jumped. Busted my arm.
The rest of the lads had very little chance.
His arm's broken alright.
Says he got from just outside Roselare with it on foot in one night.
It's true. I struck lucky with the railway lines. I walked from dusk till dawn.
It's possible.
- It's true.
The most important thing for now is to get that arm seen to.
I'll start by taking you to safe place in Brussels
Henri. Can you get him some clothes and clean him up a bit. I can't take him into Brussels in that condition.
I'm still not satisfied with his story Monique.
We'll have to wait and see. We could argue the case all day and still get nowhere.
If he's genuine, he needs immediate treatment. I'll take him to doctor Kelderman's.
If he isn't, it will be just as easy to deal with him in Brussels as it would be here.
We had it on good authority. There were no survivors from the crash of Roselare.
Look, we'll go into all that thoroughly once we've got him holed up somewhere safe.
Is it serious, doctor?
I'm a soldier. I prefer to know the truth.
I haven't lost a patient to lumbago yet Herr General. I don't anticipate you'll be the first.
You'll be safe here for tonight.
Is this the safe place you were telling me about? Do you often use it?
No, there were Germans outside the place we were going to.
This apartment belongs to a friend of mine. We'll move you out of here, perhaps tomorrow.
And I'll get a doctor to look at your arm.
- Thanks. Thatta girl.
- What?
You know, spot on, alright?
I'm going to leave you now. I shall lock the door. If anyone knocks, don't answer and don't go near the windows.
Can you take your shoes off or shall I help you?
- I can do it.
Stocking feet only I'm afraid. It's one of the rules.
Try not to move about the room at all.
Unless you have to.
Rest if you can.
- Don't worry, I can manage that.
When will you move me to a safe house? Will it be in Brussels?
Are there any other RAF men there already?
- You're not allowed to ask questions Sergeant.
Sorry. I was just keen to meet up with some of our chaps.
I'm going now. I should be back this afternoon. If not me, then someone else.
Monique, are you married?
That is a question Sergeant. The less you know about me, the better for us both. Goodbye.
I hope it is you that comes back this afternoon.
The apartment belongs to Simone Stern
- Who?
- A friend of mine. You don't know her. She was deported two weeks ago.
Well it was the only place I could think of when I saw the German car outside Kelderman's house. I could hardly think at all.
A German general with lumbago. That's all.
Can Kelderman get to him?
- Yes, this afternoon. It's all arranged. Can you be there to let him in?
- Yes.
What a business!
It's impossible, that hospital waiting.
I've been sitting in line there since 8 o'clock this morning.
Did you see him?
How did the other business go?
- There's a slight complication. Monique will tell you.
We can't take him to doctor Kelderman's for a day or two.
- Did you see the new man? Is there any hope? What did he say?
What do they all say? What can he say. So far he's only just seen the X Rays.
He asked to see you, so he must have had some opinion. What did he say?
He said there could be a chance. That's all.
If she has the operation, there's a chance she might work again well.
What sort of chance? How big a chance? He must have told you.
A 50/50 chance.
Perhaps less.
Where is this sergeant now
- Monique's left him round in a friend's place.
Friend? where?
- Simone Stern. How long will it be before she gets a bed?
Is there a waiting list for this operation?
- She isn't going to have the operation. I told you there's less than a 50/50 chance.
So even if it's a chance in a million, surely it's worth taking?
Any chance is better than no chance at all, isn't it? Isn't it?!
If the operation fails, she'll be worse than she is now.
How could she be worse than she is now? Lying up there month after month, year after year.
Demanding everything, giving nothing. How could she be worse than she is now?
It's her decision. It's her life.
- It's my life too Albert wasting away not just for her.
I have a life to live as well as Andree.
- You live your life the way you want to live it. Andree has no alternative.
She decides whether to have the operation. Not me, and not you.
Nothing, Albert. Just nothing.
I thought I might be able to suffer this situation, but I can't. I haven't the patience.
I can't go on living this way much longer. I'm sorry, I can't.
Will you tell doctor Kelderman's I'll be there this afternoon?
- Of course.
I must get some air. There are times when I can't bear to be in here.
I know how she feels, but what can I do?
Things seem to go from bad to worse.
It's you that needs the patience, I suppose with both of them, but, unless...
I am patient. I'm a patient man.
It's Monique that has no patience and I don't blame her.
But I can't do anything about that.
Did she take Andree's meal upstairs?
- I don't know. She didn't say.
I shouldn't think he needs that for a while. He ought to sleep for a couple of hours at least.
Well I'll leave it to simmer then. It will be here when he wakes up.
Is his arm going to be alright?
- Well, I've set it as best I can. It ought to have been done days ago.
It was a dreadful fracture.
I don't quite understand how he did it.
Jumping out of the plane, he said when it crash landed. Don't you think he did?
Well I can't see how. Judging from the contusions, I shouldn't have thought it was caused by a fall.
On the other hand, is there any reason to doubt him?
The station master was suspicious of his story.
- Was he?
According to reports, there were no survivors from the crash.
What does Albert think?
- I haven't spoken to Albert.
Well there wasn't any time.
We've hardly exchanged 2 words. He's been at the hospital all morning.
I'll speak to Alain. Get him to radio London. Check his identity.
I must go now. Can you stay on?
- Yes for a while.
I think it might be wise.
It is only a broken arm, isn't it? He's not in any other danger?
I wasn't thinking of him particularly. Until we're certain, I was considering all our safety.
You requested to see me Herr Major?
- Oh yes, yes indeed. Please come in.
Is there any news as yet from Stoller?
Of course not. I'm not expecting to hear from him for another 2 weeks.
Well then you don't know if he's been picked up by an escape line?
- No. Though I'm hoping that by now he would have been.
Perhaps you should start hoping otherwise.
- I beg your pardon?
I've been going through the contents of the Wellington. Compiling an inventory.
It now seems more than probable to me that there were six men on board.
I don't understand. There are five men in the crew of a Wellington. You recovered 5 bodies from the crash?
We did. Pilot's body, rear gunner, three other bodies in the belly of the plane.
Well? Five bodies in all. The entire crew accounted for.
I found six flying helmets.
6 helmets, 5 bodies.
We've also recovered in all the remains of six parachutes.
Now I'm afraid it's almost certain this particular Wellington, was carrying a passenger,
and somehow he managed to escape from the crash.
I don't need to tell you what will happen to Stoller if he and the genuine survivor, they both fall into the hands of the resistance.
I'll have the entire area searched immediately.
Florence Nightingale.
- You're supposed to be asleep.
What did you say?
- You. Florence Nightingale. The lady with the lamp.
It's not what most people call me.
Hungry?
- I wouldn't say no to bacon, egg and mushrooms.
- Nor would I.
Vegetable soup.
- Or vegetable soup.
How's the arm?
- A1.
I might do 15 press ups in a minute.
He knows his stuff, your doctor. What was his name?
As far as you're concerned Sergeant, he doesn't have one.
How did you say you broke your arm?
I got thrown against the main spar during the crash. Gave me a hell of a crack.
Can you manage with one hand or shall I feed you?
Nobody's fed me since I was five years old.
That was my mother. I was sitting up in bed with mumps. Face was out here. Real sight for sore eyes.
Where do you come from?
- Chiswick, ever heard of it?
- No.
What did you do there before the war?
- I was a student. I was going to be a building surveyor.
Then the war turned me into a bomb aimer.
Instead of construction, I'm in demolition.
What about you? What do you do for a living?
When you're not ministering to the needy.
We've been into all that before, Sergeant. As far as you're concerned, I don't exist outside this room.
Any prizes if I work it out for myself?
I know your name is Monique.
- That's all you're going to know.
You're how old? maybe 23?
- I'm 27.
I know you're not married. Are you?
- Aren't I?
Well, there is a chap. A boyfriend?
- Yes.
Serious is he? Are you going to marry him?
It's not that serious, is it? You're not going to marry him.
Or else he isn't going to marry you.
Is he? Can't? Won't?
He's married. So there is a bit of a chance then, for an unattached upright Englishman.
You know they say, while there's life, there's hope.
Why isn't he going to marry you? Has he got a wife already?
Finish your soup.
He taking it?
- A little.
That's a start. Thank God.
Oh, good shot. It's your game.
I was expecting you back hours ago.
My aunt is still no better. The doctor said she wasn't to be left alone.
I was beginning to worry.
- Of course. Didn't think you're gonna get left with the washing up again, did you?
I haven't been able to get upstairs to fetch Andree's tray down. Do you think you can manage here for 10 seconds while I do it now.
Naturally, you understand Herr General. There's no instant panacea. It's a slow business.
But I can give you the name of an excellent osteopath.
Doctor I had a couple of sessions with a Polish osteopath in Warsaw in 1939.
He put me through agony. I will remain with you for the time being.
- As you wish.
Until tomorrow then doctor.
- Good day Herr General.
My favorite Sergeant with a broken arm must remain where he is for the time being at least.
Alain did manage to get a message through to London. They got back to him last night.
They've confirmed there was a Sergeant bomb aimer. The same name and the same number in the Wellington that came down near Roselare.
It was reported there were no survivors of the crash.
- It's also been accounted for.
According to London, the Wellington was carrying a passenger on the night it crashed. A trainee pilot.
So there were six men on board, not 5.
So you're satisfied that he wasn't an infiltrator?
Reasonably satisfied.
- That should please Monique.
Monique?
- Yes, she seems to have quite taken to him.
I must say he seemed genuine enough to me.
We can't be absolutely certain until we've checked his personal background with London and that could take some time.
Meanwhile, I think we can relax our watch on him at least.
After all, if there were six men on board that bomber, and the Luftwaffe only found five bodies.
If the sixth man isn't him, where is he?
Eric.
Here's your coffee.
Thank you. Come over here, close to me.
No.
- Please?
- No. Besides, I must go soon.
Where to?
- Home of course.
Where's home?
I was wondering, after you've gone last night, do you live alone Monique?
Or do you live with this chap who isn't going to marry you?
Is he separated from his wife?
Or does he live with her and pop around to you in the afternoon?
None of your business Sergeant
- Morris
- Maurice.
- Morris,
Anyway, what is he? An Alfonse is he?
- An Albert.
An Albert.
- What's his name to you? He's just a man.
You're a boy.
Younger than me.
Don't go to him Monique.
Don't go. Stay here this afternoon with me.
You don't understand, do you?
You're too young. What do you think I'm going back to?
To your lover, to your Albert, to a man who has a wife already.
Let him go to her this afternoon. You stay here with me.
You, you think we we all live our lives in separate compartments. You here, me there.
You really have no idea what life is like have you?
There is this man who happens to have a wife, but she's a quite separate person somewhere else. Well I can tell you it isn't like that.
Yes.
There's Albert.
Yes, there's his wife and all three of us live together under one roof.
And she's a bedridden invalid.
Albert sleeps in the room next door.
Sometimes, when he's making love to me, I can hear her in the next room.
Not often, because mostly she's asleep.
But asleep or awake. I know she's there.
And I, I hold my breath trying not to make a sound in case she is awake.
Sometimes I lie there and I feel pity for this woman.
But mostly it's hate because she's no right to be there inside my head, not then.
There are no compartments Sergeant. All three of us share one.
How can I explain to you? Just because you're old enough to wear a uniform doesn't mean you're old enough to understand.
My life isn't simple, it's complicated, it's ugly, and it sickens me
and I don't want to go back.
Not this afternoon.
But I have to.
I belong there.
Alright?
- He can't come to any more harm. He's dead.
I'm sorry, Monique.
- Sorry for what?
For being so clumsy.
- You weren't clumsy
- No?
It's not your fault you've got a broken arm.
- You know I was clumsy?
- No. No..
Leave him Monique.
- Leave who?
- Albert.
Because we've spent one evening in bed together?
- No, not because of that. Not because of me.
Because I asked you. Leave Brussels?
I can't leave Brussels. I work there.
- For how long?
Till they send you to a concentration camp or shoot you?
The Germans are bound to smash your escape line in the end, you know.
- Perhaps, perhaps not.
Get out now before it's too late. You've done enough.
When they move me, make your escape too.
The war won't end just because they move you down the line.
The war won't end either when they stand you up in front of a firing squad.
You'll be dead, but the war will go on.
Why wait for that?
Go to Spain.
Why are you so concerned about what happens to me? Because we've been to bed together?
When you've left here, you'll soon forget me.
- Will you soon forget me?
Of course. Tonight's unimportant.
That's why it's good for both of us.
I'm unimportant to you and you're
unimportant to me.
I'm glad to be here now for this moment.
But tomorrow, I'll forget you.
I accept that. So must you.
Are you sure?
Yes.
Tomorrow I'll be important to Albert.
Where have you been?
- You know where I've been.
All this time?
- Yes.
Lisa asked me to stay with the Sergeant until someone came to take over from me.
You're lying Monique.
- Don't call me a liar.
What have you been doing up till now?
- What I do with my time is no business of yours, as long as you're married to her.
While you have a wife Albert, I do as I like go where I like with whoever I choose.
With the RAF Sergeant?
- Yes, if that's what you choose to think.
You've been to bed with him.
- Have I?
Go ahead if that's what you want to believe.
I've told you. Lisa asked me to stay. Go round and ask her.
There's no need for that Monique.
- Good. I'm glad to hear it.
She's here.
- Where?
In there with Doctor Kelderman.
They've been here almost an hour.
Waiting for you.
If you have been to bed with him, I hope he performed well enough to make it all worthwhile.
He's an SS officer.
- Impossible.
He's an infiltrator.
- I don't believe it.
Well don't take my word.
Do what you told me to do. Ask Lisa.
Albert's told you?
Yes, but there's some mistake. He's an RAF Sergeant, he's British.
No, he was lying. He was never on that plane.
The sixth crew member's been accounted for. His name is Alec Lamb, a trainee pilot.
He's the infiltrator. He's the one that's lying.
- He can't be lying Monique. He's dead.
His body was found this afternoon.
- He died from pneumonia.
It's rather curious. He'd been fed shaved and his burns had been attended to.
We think that someone found him when he was dying and didn't know how to get in touch with us.
So they were stuck with a dead body.
- He could still be the infiltrator. Maurice...
Maurice?
- The British Sergeant. He had a broken arm. How do you explain that?
The Germans did it to him to make us believe his story.
You can't break a man's arm just to gain sympathy.
- They can.
I still don't believe it.
- It's true.
Alain's had another message from London. The bomb aimer in that Wellington, Sergeant Clifton.
Yes, that's him, Maurice Clifton.
No, he told you he was studying to be a building surveyor. That he lived in Chiswick.
The real Sergeant Clifton came from Newcastle and worked in local government.
Where is Alain?
- He's keeping watch on the flat.
At first when he got there, he was worried about you. You were in there a long time.
Then he saw you leave.
- Did you tell him anything?
- No.
Are you sure about that?
- Yes, yes.
Nothing of importance.
And he said nothing to you.
- Nothing that made you at all suspicious?
No, no we talked yes, but we said nothing important.
- Good.
It wouldn't have made much difference anyway if you had told him anything.
There's no telephone, and if he tries to leave, Alain will deal with him.
When are you going to kill him?
- As soon as possible.
Who?
- I shall need your help.
What can I do?
So far he's only met you and Pascal. You're the one he spent most time with.
Does he trust you?
- Yes
- You're quite sure?
- Quite sure.
If you told him he was going along the line tomorrow. He'd accept that without question.
He'd let you take him, without question, out into the country to meet his next contact.
- Yes.
Tomorrow morning then.
Well, this is as far as we go.
It's where I first found you.
- Yes, I remember.
Do I just wait?
- Yes, go in. There'll be someone there for you. If not, he won't be long.
Aren't you coming in with me?
- No. Guides never meet each other. One of the rules. Security.
I suppose this is goodbye then?
Not au revoir?
Yes, please go quickly. It's dangerous to wait.
Thank you for yesterday.
Sorry, I had to have the plaster on.
Better luck next time.
- Yes. Better luck next time.
What a waste.
Without the dogs we would not even have found the body.
I knew Untersturmführer Stoller when he was first accepted at the SS.
He won both his sporting badges in his first three months. At the time it was a regimental record.
He served in the Sudetenland, when he was just 18.
He was at the barricades at Liebenstein.
And when the first main offensive was launched, Ernst was a member of the original SS Panzer Division Totenkopf.
He's been decorated twice.
Almost a lifetime of service and he was only 21.
Is this a decoration?
The SS badge of kinship, Herr Major.
It's entitled to be worn only by the kith and kin of any man accepted into the SS order.
But Stoller was an orphan?
- That is so.
I'm arranging to have it dispatched through Spain to his English relatives. You may recall he mentioned there were an aunt and uncle.
It's not conceivable is it Herr Sturmbannführer that an English shopkeeper will wear an SS badge.
No, it's not expected.
But they will know in England.
that Ernst Stoller died
in the manner which he would himself have chosen.
In the service of the Fatherland.
Is that to go upstairs?
I'm taking it up Monique.
- I'll do it.
- Thank you.
What's the matter? Have I forgotten something?
- No.
I was just wondering if you were ever
going to look into my face again?
Yes, of course.
We have to live together, haven't we?
- All three of us.
They're looking for technical equipment.
Gestapo.Let us through.
- Sir.
Kessler. You were told to expect me.
- They're over there, sir.
- Bring your torch.
I'm afraid only three of the bodies are identifiable, sir.
Part of the plane exploded when it crashed.
There is another body burned beyond all recognition.
All we've managed to recover of the tail Gunner is.. Well, I'm sorry Sir, but...
It's not your fault, is it OberLeutnant?
- No, Sir, but..
You were not personally responsible for the aircraft coming down in this particular way in this particular field were you?
No Sir.
- Then don't apologize.
You've found sufficient bits and pieces to be able to give me your complete assurance that the entire crew was killed in the crash.
Without doubt Sir, we have accounted quite definitely for all five crew members.
Hurry up, man.
These three. Have you established their positions in the aircraft.
The pilot and the bomb aimer, Sir, and we think the Navigator. It's impossible to say.
All three of them are very badly burned.
Show me the first.
This was the pilot, Sir.
A flight Sergeant.
His name?
Every moment is vital, OberLeutnant. His name and number.
129477. Allardyce, J.J.
- Next?
The bomb aimer sir. Again, in sergeant's uniform.
1449811, Clifton MG.
His name is Maurice Clifton.
We found the remnants of a letter in his pocket.
This one will do. Give me his tags.
- Sir?
His identification tags OberLeutnant. Hand them to me.
Will that be all sir?
- Yes.
No, show me the last one.
- We can only assume that he's the Navigator.
There was nothing left of his uniform.
And his flesh is burned to the bone.
Show him to me, Oberleutnant.
Look at him OberLeutnant.
It is the face of the enemy.
It is the face of defeat.
It is the face of death.
Isn't that what we all wish to see?
Goodnight, Stefan. Good night
Corporal Köhler.
Next year, when it's your 23rd birthday.
Let me know in good time.
And I'll make sure we're closed.
Sarah, do you know what the time is?
He's married Monique?
I found out.
I didn't believe it at first, but tonight he admitted it.
He has a wife in Leipzig. They have a little girl.
They've all got wives. Didn't you know? In Leipzig, Berlin, Dresden, Cologne.
The ones that have got wives at the lucky ones. The ones that haven't got wives have got widows.
There is a war on.
Don't cry on my shoulder. Not tonight.
It's been a long day. I'm tired and we're closed. Come on.
Goodnight, Monique.
Forget his wife. Leipzig's a long way away.
Where? Near Roselare?
What the whole consignment smashed?
Well, there's nothing we can do, is there?
Well, let me know when you're expecting another delivery. Alright. Yeah, goodbye.
Anti aircraft battery brought down another Wellington tonight near Rosalare. No survivors.
Five more men with widows. Where today I wonder? Manchester? Birmingham? Oxford?
What are you talking about?
Sarah. She's just discovered her German Sergeant has a wife in Leipzig.
What's that to me?
Nothing to you, Albert. But she thought it was worth getting drunk for.
Leipzig! Your wife is here. She lives above my head.
Half the time I actually think she's inside it.
We're not gonna start that all over again, are we?
- No, not tonight Albert.
I went up to her five minutes ago. She's taken a sleeping pill. She's fast asleep.
We're not going to start that again tonight either.
Why not?
- Because I'm tired.
Because suddenly it's not enough. Having her asleep upstairs.
I wish she wasn't asleep Albert. I wish she was dead. I do. I really do.
I wish your wife was dead.
I'm going home.
If you want to leave those glasses, I'll do them in the morning.
And where were you educated?
- In Chiswick. My father owned a grocery shop in Chiswick High Road.
I was educated at the Grammar School. I took my HSC. Higher School Certificate.
And then onto University. Oxford or Cambridge? Which college?
I didn't go on to University. I went to the Regent polytechnic.
I was going to be a building surveyor. When the war broke out I was studying for my RICS finals.
- RICS?
Royal Institute of Chartered
Surveyors.
Why did you join the RAF?
- I got to Sergeant in the air training corps at Grammar School.
It's tonight. The situation is perfect. There were no survivors and there are no reports so far of any other British aircraft losses.
Excellent.
And how does Untersturmführer Stoller stand up to interrogation?
Flawlessly? As yet I haven't found a single loophole in his story.
You won't. Question him all night. He's told you the exact truth about his background.Am I right Untersturmführer?
Sir. Except for the fact that it wasn't my father's shop. It belonged to my uncle.
My parents were both killed in a train accident near Dusseldorf when I was a child.
I was brought up by my father's sister. She had married an Englishman. I chose to return to the Reich in 1938.
Yes, of course.
These are yours. Memorize the name and number before you put them on.
1449811.
1449811
- And the name?
Clifton M. What does the initial stand for?
- Maurice. Maurice Clifton
And the number again one number
149811 - Sergeant Maurice Clifton.
- Excellent.
Whatever happens, you are entirely alone.
You will make no attempt to contact us.
- We will make no attempt to contact you.
Yes, Sir, we've been through all that many times.
- We will go through it once again.
Now when you leave this car, you will become in every sense of the word, a member of the RAF.
You are attempting to get back to England and that is your entire brief Untersturmführer.
You will obey their rules. You will travel only by night. You will remain hidden by day.
You will make it your duty to evade all of our forces, even if by so doing they fire on you.
Now, if you are picked up by the resistance. When you are picked up by the resistance.
You will go along with everything they say.
You will allow them to send you along their line all the way into Spain or Switzerland.
Then, and not until then, when you are in possession of a complete breakdown of their entire escape line.
You will report back to me. You understand?
- Of course sir.
- Good.
How far are we from the crashed aircraft?
- About half a kilometer?
Now it will be light in one hour. You will keep on the move until then.
- Yes.
Good luck Untersturmführer.
It will be a dangerous game, but I know that you have the strength for it.
Be sure of that.
Oh before you go. Just one thing. Pass me that briefcase would you, from the back seat?
Ernst. It's for your own good.
They are more likely to accept if you were wounded.
Do you understand?
Good.
I'm proud of you Untersturmführer Stoller.
Help me to smash this line and the SS will have cause too to be proud of you.
Are you ready?
You came from that direction. You were heading there.
Heil Hitler.
What weather.
I'm shan't be going far today.
I don't mind telling you.
No, Albert, not far.
Only up and down those stairs at least 100 times.
Who are you? What are you doing here?
Help me, please.
English... RAF... Wellington...
Shot down...
It was, I swear to you, it was. The night before last.
There were no planes brought down round here the night before last night.
I was. A Wellington. I was the bomb aimer Clifton, Sergeant 1449811.
Isn't there some way you can have that checked. I was shot down the night before last.
Where?
- I don't know. It's hard to say.
I followed the railway lines all last night.
Probably Southwest of here.
The only plane that was brought down Southwest of us the night before last was over 15 miles away.
Wellington?
Can't you get word to the resistance people in Brussels? Surely they could check my story.
They're on their way. If you're lying, pray they don't arrive too soon.
It's the truth for Heaven's sake. If it was a Wellington that was my plane.
A report came through there were no survivors.
- There weren't apart from me.
She broke in half as we crash landed. Fuselage went up in flames.
I was lucky to escape with just a broken arm.
I watched the Jerries pulling out the bodies. As soon as they'd cleared off, I started walking.
You expect us to believe that you walked more than 15 miles with a broken arm?
If you don't believe me, look at my feet.
Blisters don't lie.
Don't you think you ought to attend to his arm first?
Monique. We understood that Al...
- ...He was. Something came up.
What's the difficulty here?
- Not too sure that this one is what he says he is.
I'm RAF. Clifton Sergeant 1449811.
nThey won't believe me. I came down in a Wellington two nights ago.
The rest of the crew?
- The plane broke up as soon as it hit the ground.
The fuselage went up in flames. The back half was a total write off.
I jumped. Busted my arm.
The rest of the lads had very little chance.
His arm's broken alright.
Says he got from just outside Roselare with it on foot in one night.
It's true. I struck lucky with the railway lines. I walked from dusk till dawn.
It's possible.
- It's true.
The most important thing for now is to get that arm seen to.
I'll start by taking you to safe place in Brussels
Henri. Can you get him some clothes and clean him up a bit. I can't take him into Brussels in that condition.
I'm still not satisfied with his story Monique.
We'll have to wait and see. We could argue the case all day and still get nowhere.
If he's genuine, he needs immediate treatment. I'll take him to doctor Kelderman's.
If he isn't, it will be just as easy to deal with him in Brussels as it would be here.
We had it on good authority. There were no survivors from the crash of Roselare.
Look, we'll go into all that thoroughly once we've got him holed up somewhere safe.
Is it serious, doctor?
I'm a soldier. I prefer to know the truth.
I haven't lost a patient to lumbago yet Herr General. I don't anticipate you'll be the first.
You'll be safe here for tonight.
Is this the safe place you were telling me about? Do you often use it?
No, there were Germans outside the place we were going to.
This apartment belongs to a friend of mine. We'll move you out of here, perhaps tomorrow.
And I'll get a doctor to look at your arm.
- Thanks. Thatta girl.
- What?
You know, spot on, alright?
I'm going to leave you now. I shall lock the door. If anyone knocks, don't answer and don't go near the windows.
Can you take your shoes off or shall I help you?
- I can do it.
Stocking feet only I'm afraid. It's one of the rules.
Try not to move about the room at all.
Unless you have to.
Rest if you can.
- Don't worry, I can manage that.
When will you move me to a safe house? Will it be in Brussels?
Are there any other RAF men there already?
- You're not allowed to ask questions Sergeant.
Sorry. I was just keen to meet up with some of our chaps.
I'm going now. I should be back this afternoon. If not me, then someone else.
Monique, are you married?
That is a question Sergeant. The less you know about me, the better for us both. Goodbye.
I hope it is you that comes back this afternoon.
The apartment belongs to Simone Stern
- Who?
- A friend of mine. You don't know her. She was deported two weeks ago.
Well it was the only place I could think of when I saw the German car outside Kelderman's house. I could hardly think at all.
A German general with lumbago. That's all.
Can Kelderman get to him?
- Yes, this afternoon. It's all arranged. Can you be there to let him in?
- Yes.
What a business!
It's impossible, that hospital waiting.
I've been sitting in line there since 8 o'clock this morning.
Did you see him?
How did the other business go?
- There's a slight complication. Monique will tell you.
We can't take him to doctor Kelderman's for a day or two.
- Did you see the new man? Is there any hope? What did he say?
What do they all say? What can he say. So far he's only just seen the X Rays.
He asked to see you, so he must have had some opinion. What did he say?
He said there could be a chance. That's all.
If she has the operation, there's a chance she might work again well.
What sort of chance? How big a chance? He must have told you.
A 50/50 chance.
Perhaps less.
Where is this sergeant now
- Monique's left him round in a friend's place.
Friend? where?
- Simone Stern. How long will it be before she gets a bed?
Is there a waiting list for this operation?
- She isn't going to have the operation. I told you there's less than a 50/50 chance.
So even if it's a chance in a million, surely it's worth taking?
Any chance is better than no chance at all, isn't it? Isn't it?!
If the operation fails, she'll be worse than she is now.
How could she be worse than she is now? Lying up there month after month, year after year.
Demanding everything, giving nothing. How could she be worse than she is now?
It's her decision. It's her life.
- It's my life too Albert wasting away not just for her.
I have a life to live as well as Andree.
- You live your life the way you want to live it. Andree has no alternative.
She decides whether to have the operation. Not me, and not you.
Nothing, Albert. Just nothing.
I thought I might be able to suffer this situation, but I can't. I haven't the patience.
I can't go on living this way much longer. I'm sorry, I can't.
Will you tell doctor Kelderman's I'll be there this afternoon?
- Of course.
I must get some air. There are times when I can't bear to be in here.
I know how she feels, but what can I do?
Things seem to go from bad to worse.
It's you that needs the patience, I suppose with both of them, but, unless...
I am patient. I'm a patient man.
It's Monique that has no patience and I don't blame her.
But I can't do anything about that.
Did she take Andree's meal upstairs?
- I don't know. She didn't say.
I shouldn't think he needs that for a while. He ought to sleep for a couple of hours at least.
Well I'll leave it to simmer then. It will be here when he wakes up.
Is his arm going to be alright?
- Well, I've set it as best I can. It ought to have been done days ago.
It was a dreadful fracture.
I don't quite understand how he did it.
Jumping out of the plane, he said when it crash landed. Don't you think he did?
Well I can't see how. Judging from the contusions, I shouldn't have thought it was caused by a fall.
On the other hand, is there any reason to doubt him?
The station master was suspicious of his story.
- Was he?
According to reports, there were no survivors from the crash.
What does Albert think?
- I haven't spoken to Albert.
Well there wasn't any time.
We've hardly exchanged 2 words. He's been at the hospital all morning.
I'll speak to Alain. Get him to radio London. Check his identity.
I must go now. Can you stay on?
- Yes for a while.
I think it might be wise.
It is only a broken arm, isn't it? He's not in any other danger?
I wasn't thinking of him particularly. Until we're certain, I was considering all our safety.
You requested to see me Herr Major?
- Oh yes, yes indeed. Please come in.
Is there any news as yet from Stoller?
Of course not. I'm not expecting to hear from him for another 2 weeks.
Well then you don't know if he's been picked up by an escape line?
- No. Though I'm hoping that by now he would have been.
Perhaps you should start hoping otherwise.
- I beg your pardon?
I've been going through the contents of the Wellington. Compiling an inventory.
It now seems more than probable to me that there were six men on board.
I don't understand. There are five men in the crew of a Wellington. You recovered 5 bodies from the crash?
We did. Pilot's body, rear gunner, three other bodies in the belly of the plane.
Well? Five bodies in all. The entire crew accounted for.
I found six flying helmets.
6 helmets, 5 bodies.
We've also recovered in all the remains of six parachutes.
Now I'm afraid it's almost certain this particular Wellington, was carrying a passenger,
and somehow he managed to escape from the crash.
I don't need to tell you what will happen to Stoller if he and the genuine survivor, they both fall into the hands of the resistance.
I'll have the entire area searched immediately.
Florence Nightingale.
- You're supposed to be asleep.
What did you say?
- You. Florence Nightingale. The lady with the lamp.
It's not what most people call me.
Hungry?
- I wouldn't say no to bacon, egg and mushrooms.
- Nor would I.
Vegetable soup.
- Or vegetable soup.
How's the arm?
- A1.
I might do 15 press ups in a minute.
He knows his stuff, your doctor. What was his name?
As far as you're concerned Sergeant, he doesn't have one.
How did you say you broke your arm?
I got thrown against the main spar during the crash. Gave me a hell of a crack.
Can you manage with one hand or shall I feed you?
Nobody's fed me since I was five years old.
That was my mother. I was sitting up in bed with mumps. Face was out here. Real sight for sore eyes.
Where do you come from?
- Chiswick, ever heard of it?
- No.
What did you do there before the war?
- I was a student. I was going to be a building surveyor.
Then the war turned me into a bomb aimer.
Instead of construction, I'm in demolition.
What about you? What do you do for a living?
When you're not ministering to the needy.
We've been into all that before, Sergeant. As far as you're concerned, I don't exist outside this room.
Any prizes if I work it out for myself?
I know your name is Monique.
- That's all you're going to know.
You're how old? maybe 23?
- I'm 27.
I know you're not married. Are you?
- Aren't I?
Well, there is a chap. A boyfriend?
- Yes.
Serious is he? Are you going to marry him?
It's not that serious, is it? You're not going to marry him.
Or else he isn't going to marry you.
Is he? Can't? Won't?
He's married. So there is a bit of a chance then, for an unattached upright Englishman.
You know they say, while there's life, there's hope.
Why isn't he going to marry you? Has he got a wife already?
Finish your soup.
He taking it?
- A little.
That's a start. Thank God.
Oh, good shot. It's your game.
I was expecting you back hours ago.
My aunt is still no better. The doctor said she wasn't to be left alone.
I was beginning to worry.
- Of course. Didn't think you're gonna get left with the washing up again, did you?
I haven't been able to get upstairs to fetch Andree's tray down. Do you think you can manage here for 10 seconds while I do it now.
Naturally, you understand Herr General. There's no instant panacea. It's a slow business.
But I can give you the name of an excellent osteopath.
Doctor I had a couple of sessions with a Polish osteopath in Warsaw in 1939.
He put me through agony. I will remain with you for the time being.
- As you wish.
Until tomorrow then doctor.
- Good day Herr General.
My favorite Sergeant with a broken arm must remain where he is for the time being at least.
Alain did manage to get a message through to London. They got back to him last night.
They've confirmed there was a Sergeant bomb aimer. The same name and the same number in the Wellington that came down near Roselare.
It was reported there were no survivors of the crash.
- It's also been accounted for.
According to London, the Wellington was carrying a passenger on the night it crashed. A trainee pilot.
So there were six men on board, not 5.
So you're satisfied that he wasn't an infiltrator?
Reasonably satisfied.
- That should please Monique.
Monique?
- Yes, she seems to have quite taken to him.
I must say he seemed genuine enough to me.
We can't be absolutely certain until we've checked his personal background with London and that could take some time.
Meanwhile, I think we can relax our watch on him at least.
After all, if there were six men on board that bomber, and the Luftwaffe only found five bodies.
If the sixth man isn't him, where is he?
Eric.
Here's your coffee.
Thank you. Come over here, close to me.
No.
- Please?
- No. Besides, I must go soon.
Where to?
- Home of course.
Where's home?
I was wondering, after you've gone last night, do you live alone Monique?
Or do you live with this chap who isn't going to marry you?
Is he separated from his wife?
Or does he live with her and pop around to you in the afternoon?
None of your business Sergeant
- Morris
- Maurice.
- Morris,
Anyway, what is he? An Alfonse is he?
- An Albert.
An Albert.
- What's his name to you? He's just a man.
You're a boy.
Younger than me.
Don't go to him Monique.
Don't go. Stay here this afternoon with me.
You don't understand, do you?
You're too young. What do you think I'm going back to?
To your lover, to your Albert, to a man who has a wife already.
Let him go to her this afternoon. You stay here with me.
You, you think we we all live our lives in separate compartments. You here, me there.
You really have no idea what life is like have you?
There is this man who happens to have a wife, but she's a quite separate person somewhere else. Well I can tell you it isn't like that.
Yes.
There's Albert.
Yes, there's his wife and all three of us live together under one roof.
And she's a bedridden invalid.
Albert sleeps in the room next door.
Sometimes, when he's making love to me, I can hear her in the next room.
Not often, because mostly she's asleep.
But asleep or awake. I know she's there.
And I, I hold my breath trying not to make a sound in case she is awake.
Sometimes I lie there and I feel pity for this woman.
But mostly it's hate because she's no right to be there inside my head, not then.
There are no compartments Sergeant. All three of us share one.
How can I explain to you? Just because you're old enough to wear a uniform doesn't mean you're old enough to understand.
My life isn't simple, it's complicated, it's ugly, and it sickens me
and I don't want to go back.
Not this afternoon.
But I have to.
I belong there.
Alright?
- He can't come to any more harm. He's dead.
I'm sorry, Monique.
- Sorry for what?
For being so clumsy.
- You weren't clumsy
- No?
It's not your fault you've got a broken arm.
- You know I was clumsy?
- No. No..
Leave him Monique.
- Leave who?
- Albert.
Because we've spent one evening in bed together?
- No, not because of that. Not because of me.
Because I asked you. Leave Brussels?
I can't leave Brussels. I work there.
- For how long?
Till they send you to a concentration camp or shoot you?
The Germans are bound to smash your escape line in the end, you know.
- Perhaps, perhaps not.
Get out now before it's too late. You've done enough.
When they move me, make your escape too.
The war won't end just because they move you down the line.
The war won't end either when they stand you up in front of a firing squad.
You'll be dead, but the war will go on.
Why wait for that?
Go to Spain.
Why are you so concerned about what happens to me? Because we've been to bed together?
When you've left here, you'll soon forget me.
- Will you soon forget me?
Of course. Tonight's unimportant.
That's why it's good for both of us.
I'm unimportant to you and you're
unimportant to me.
I'm glad to be here now for this moment.
But tomorrow, I'll forget you.
I accept that. So must you.
Are you sure?
Yes.
Tomorrow I'll be important to Albert.
Where have you been?
- You know where I've been.
All this time?
- Yes.
Lisa asked me to stay with the Sergeant until someone came to take over from me.
You're lying Monique.
- Don't call me a liar.
What have you been doing up till now?
- What I do with my time is no business of yours, as long as you're married to her.
While you have a wife Albert, I do as I like go where I like with whoever I choose.
With the RAF Sergeant?
- Yes, if that's what you choose to think.
You've been to bed with him.
- Have I?
Go ahead if that's what you want to believe.
I've told you. Lisa asked me to stay. Go round and ask her.
There's no need for that Monique.
- Good. I'm glad to hear it.
She's here.
- Where?
In there with Doctor Kelderman.
They've been here almost an hour.
Waiting for you.
If you have been to bed with him, I hope he performed well enough to make it all worthwhile.
He's an SS officer.
- Impossible.
He's an infiltrator.
- I don't believe it.
Well don't take my word.
Do what you told me to do. Ask Lisa.
Albert's told you?
Yes, but there's some mistake. He's an RAF Sergeant, he's British.
No, he was lying. He was never on that plane.
The sixth crew member's been accounted for. His name is Alec Lamb, a trainee pilot.
He's the infiltrator. He's the one that's lying.
- He can't be lying Monique. He's dead.
His body was found this afternoon.
- He died from pneumonia.
It's rather curious. He'd been fed shaved and his burns had been attended to.
We think that someone found him when he was dying and didn't know how to get in touch with us.
So they were stuck with a dead body.
- He could still be the infiltrator. Maurice...
Maurice?
- The British Sergeant. He had a broken arm. How do you explain that?
The Germans did it to him to make us believe his story.
You can't break a man's arm just to gain sympathy.
- They can.
I still don't believe it.
- It's true.
Alain's had another message from London. The bomb aimer in that Wellington, Sergeant Clifton.
Yes, that's him, Maurice Clifton.
No, he told you he was studying to be a building surveyor. That he lived in Chiswick.
The real Sergeant Clifton came from Newcastle and worked in local government.
Where is Alain?
- He's keeping watch on the flat.
At first when he got there, he was worried about you. You were in there a long time.
Then he saw you leave.
- Did you tell him anything?
- No.
Are you sure about that?
- Yes, yes.
Nothing of importance.
And he said nothing to you.
- Nothing that made you at all suspicious?
No, no we talked yes, but we said nothing important.
- Good.
It wouldn't have made much difference anyway if you had told him anything.
There's no telephone, and if he tries to leave, Alain will deal with him.
When are you going to kill him?
- As soon as possible.
Who?
- I shall need your help.
What can I do?
So far he's only met you and Pascal. You're the one he spent most time with.
Does he trust you?
- Yes
- You're quite sure?
- Quite sure.
If you told him he was going along the line tomorrow. He'd accept that without question.
He'd let you take him, without question, out into the country to meet his next contact.
- Yes.
Tomorrow morning then.
Well, this is as far as we go.
It's where I first found you.
- Yes, I remember.
Do I just wait?
- Yes, go in. There'll be someone there for you. If not, he won't be long.
Aren't you coming in with me?
- No. Guides never meet each other. One of the rules. Security.
I suppose this is goodbye then?
Not au revoir?
Yes, please go quickly. It's dangerous to wait.
Thank you for yesterday.
Sorry, I had to have the plaster on.
Better luck next time.
- Yes. Better luck next time.
What a waste.
Without the dogs we would not even have found the body.
I knew Untersturmführer Stoller when he was first accepted at the SS.
He won both his sporting badges in his first three months. At the time it was a regimental record.
He served in the Sudetenland, when he was just 18.
He was at the barricades at Liebenstein.
And when the first main offensive was launched, Ernst was a member of the original SS Panzer Division Totenkopf.
He's been decorated twice.
Almost a lifetime of service and he was only 21.
Is this a decoration?
The SS badge of kinship, Herr Major.
It's entitled to be worn only by the kith and kin of any man accepted into the SS order.
But Stoller was an orphan?
- That is so.
I'm arranging to have it dispatched through Spain to his English relatives. You may recall he mentioned there were an aunt and uncle.
It's not conceivable is it Herr Sturmbannführer that an English shopkeeper will wear an SS badge.
No, it's not expected.
But they will know in England.
that Ernst Stoller died
in the manner which he would himself have chosen.
In the service of the Fatherland.
Is that to go upstairs?
I'm taking it up Monique.
- I'll do it.
- Thank you.
What's the matter? Have I forgotten something?
- No.
I was just wondering if you were ever
going to look into my face again?
Yes, of course.
We have to live together, haven't we?
- All three of us.