17 Sep 1935 - Malta

[Diarist]

We left Tobruk at first light and made it safely to Malta in time for lunch. Before leaving we'd heard that Italy had conceded defeat and that a ceasefire on all fronts was in place and holding since midnight. We have a De Havilland Dragon Rapide at our disposal, one of the aircraft the RAF had inherited from Hillman Airways in the summer.

WO1 Thomas Shaw had arrived with the aircraft from Egypt and he is flying with us back to England. In fact, all the passengers  are TRADOC if one includes Rommel. General Gort, Prince Edward and myself make up the rest. We also had a couple of stowaways on board, 2 cases of Asti, which were slowly being consumed, but not by Prince Edward because he is the reserve pilot. While some of us at TRADOC have been learning to fly he has trained for a twin-engine licence and is now qualified for the Dragon and Dragon Rapide. I had a decent steak for lunch then walked back to our aircraft. I had been speaking Arabic with Thomas and told him of my short-lived battalion command.

Our pilot informed us that we will be flying to Bizerta to refuel because the leg to Toulon is near the extreme range of the aircraft and the wind direction is not on our side. So we are flying the scenic route via Tunisia and that means a few more hours flying time.

[Diarist]

We arrived in Toulon just before dark then were driven to the HQ/Hotel which I've visited a few times this summer. There was a big reunion with our 'Canadians', who like us in Africa, were now excess baggage. They already have tickets to travel by train to Paris tomorrow. General Gort and General George P. Smith meeting was amusing, speaking very bombastic French declaring his Mobile Corps as the new Grande Armée. Napoleon's first campaign was in northern Italy. General Gort told him about how I had changed the plans for the 51st so that they were in Assab in time for lunch. I told him that I'm now a member of Winston Churchill's staff but still have a desk at TRADOC and that I can keep my rank as a major.

After a while he asked me to accompany him to the next room. Imagine my surprise when I saw not only my friend Guy Simonds but also Tenente Colonello Luigi Cardese with his wife and son. I explained that in August I really was on vacation but looking for any indication if they were aware of our plans to invade NW Italy. That's not really spying, just keeping my eyes open. Luigi confirmed that our attack was a complete surprise and everybody was completely paralysed. They never recovered from the weight and speed of the attack. There will be a lot to talk about in England.

Next on my agenda was saying farewell to Erwin. We did talk again about him moving to England. I suggested that he accompany Canaris and ask if you could take your children to see London. I told him he is more than welcome. I really do hope that he decides to join us at TRADOC. Time to get some sleep because we are taking off at first light. At this time tomorrow I'll be back in England.