Operation Sea Lion: Letters from Cletus 12

Time for the last post in the 'Letters from Cletus' series.

WESTERN UNION
Washington D.C.
7/14/44

Dear Mr & Mrs Carter,

Please find below the content of a Telegram we've received addressed to you.


HAVE LOCATED CLETUS+WOUNDS VERY SERIOUS+DOCTORS OPERATED FOR TWELVE HOURS+THEY HAVE INFORMED ME THAT CLETUS+++++ MESSAGE ENDS

The message was cut short due to an enemy air raid knocking out a communication station in England. We regret that have no further information on who sent the message or on the fate of the Cletus mentioned. We hope you know the originator of the message and can contact them for further information.

Western Union regret that we were unable to fully transmit the message in this instance.

Yours sincerely,
A. N. Williams
(Bureau Chief, Washington D.C. Office)

Letters from Cletus 11

Time for the penultimate 'Letter from Cletus'. This one talks about the climactic Battle of London and what happens to Cletus and the Prof.

Dear Mr & Mrs Carter,
My name is Professor Jolyon Peregrine Montmorency Mountjoy but I believe your son, Cletus, usually refers to me as the Prof. No doubt you will have heard what happened to Cletus through official channels but I felt I couldn't leave it at that. So here is the story of that fateful day.

We had just arrived at our assigned sector in London when we encountered a German tank company probing our defences. Our tanks covered both flanks, our centre was held by artillery and an infantry company started to take up position in the buildings on our left. The German dispositions mirrored our own. The initial exchanges were inconclusive but as the German armour moved forward on our right flank the fire from our tanks destroyed the bulk of their unit forcing the rest to withdraw. Fire from our artillery and air support had knocked out their 88's as well leaving their left flank undefended.

Sadly things were not going so well on our left flank. Our infantry became pinned by enemy fire and the Germans moved up their infantry and assaulted. After a savage struggle our troops were forced back only for them to be wiped out to the last man by machine gun fire. Luckily our tanks on the right had swiftly moved forward to exploit the opening left by the retreating Germans. Seeing their flank about to be turned the Germans pulled back and we were victorious.

It was a few hours later that fate took a hand. The Russian officers had been joined by the sector commanders for a strategy meeting. I was there to help translate if needed and of course Cletus was there to keep me safe. The meeting had barely started when a German soldier burst in on us and started firing. He must have been left behind when the Germans pulled back. Everyone hit the floor and the guards returned fire mortally wounding the German but as he fell he threw a grenade at us. The cramped confines of the room meant that the blast would be devastating. It was then that Cletus saved us all. He grabbed his back pack and dived onto the grenade using his pack and his body to shield us. It was the bravest and most noble thing I have ever seen.

I was wounded in the explosion and passed out. When I awoke in the Aid Station Cletus was nowhere to be seen. I asked where he had been taken and was told that he had been very badly wounded and had been evacuated to a Field Hospital. The intense fighting in London has necessitated large numbers of the wounded be moved out of London and because of this I have been unable to determine whether Cletus' survived or not. I realise it may be unkind of me to ask but no doubt you will have heard of Cletus' fate from your War Department. I beg you to write me as soon as possible if you have so I may know whether to grieve or rejoice. Although I know that it will be of little consolation if the news is bad but Cletus has been submitted for a medal due to his selfless heroism.

I must close now as I have to write to Mary so she may learn what has happened to her husband. It is not a task I am relishing

Your obedient servant,
Jolyon Mountjoy

Tomorrow's post will see the fate of Cletus revealed.

Operation Sea Lion: Letters from Cletus 10

WWPD's Operation Sea Lion campaign is coming to an end on Sunday and I plan to do a series of three 'Letters from Cletus' over the next three days to round things off. What follows is the first letter of the trilogy.

Dear Ma & Pa,

I got some news I hope you'll be real happy about, Mary and I just got married! I know this seems real quick as I've only known her a few weeks but I'm sure she's the one. But I'm getting ahead of myself so I reckon I better explain what's happened.

We got word a few days ago that we were being moved out to aid in the defence of London. Seems the Generals think that a big push is coming real soon from the Nazi's. Word is that the Royal Navy and the flyboys been hitting the Nazi supply ships in the Channel real hard and that iff'n the Nazi's don't take London real soon their attack is going fail on account of them running out of stuff. 

I managed to ring Mary at the hospital to tell her we was moving out and I might not be able to see her for a while as we was likely going to be in combat. Then out of the blue she says she thinks we should get married! Well you coulda knocked me down with a feather. I asked her if she was sure and she said she was. Then she said that she loved me and she knew I loved her and what with the war and the chance that either of us could get killed she thought it was silly to not get married while we could and risk losing everything we had together. So I said yes I'd love to marry her and she started crying and laughing at the same time and I felt so happy like I was fit to burst.

We couldn't have got it done without the Prof's help though. When I told him Mary and me was getting married I expected him to say that it wasn't a good idea or that we was rushing things. But he said it was the smartest thing I'd ever done and that Mary was just the girl to sort me out. I asked him to be my Best Man and he said he'd be honoured to stand at my side. Apparently you have to get your C.O.'s permission to get married and you've got all these forms to fill out. But the Prof pulled a few strings and got everything sorted out real quick. I guess Russkies ain't that fond of regulations neither.

Even though we was getting ready to pull out the Russkies did everything they could to help sort out the wedding. They got a big tent set up where we could hold the service and then use it for the reception. They even sorted out some decorations and food. But if you ask me I reckon the Russkies was more interested in meeting the nurses Mary had invited to the wedding than helping me get hitched.

The big day arrived and I was more nervous than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Than I saw Mary walking down the aisle towards me looking like an angel in this beautiful wedding dress. The service was a bit of a blur but I remembered all the words and didn't make a fool of myself for once. She looked so beautiful, I couldn't stop smiling all the way through the ceremony I was so happy. Then the Chaplain said 'I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride'. I was just about to kiss her when all hell broke loose with the officers running in and shouting that the timetable had changed and we were moving out right now and to load our gear into the trucks. Mary just looked at me and gave a sad little smile and said 'go on husband, get out of here'. I grabbed her and gave her a quick kiss than ran to grab my gear and get onto the truck. I just made it as the truck was pulling out. I looked back and I just caught a glimpse of her waving goodbye I hope it's not the last time I see her.

The trucks took us to the train station were boarded a train for London, not the honeymoon I'd hoped for. That's where I'm writing this letter to you from. I have to finish now as the Sergeant's coming round to collect our letters. 

Please add Mary to your prayers. Your loving son,
Cletus.

Tomorrow's letter will be about Cletus' role in the Battle for London. As for Sunday's letter you'll just have to wait and see.

Assembling the 4Ground 15mm MDF Terrace

I decided to assemble my 4Ground pre-painted terrace kit yesterday afternoon. I was a bit apprehensive at first as there's so many parts. However once I got going and followed the instructions and photos it went together fairly easily.

First tip, don't punch out all the parts as they are all lettered to indicate where they should go. Next have a look at the instructions and punch out just the parts you need, placing them on your work bench in the same layout as shown in the instructions. This really does make things easier. Then dry fit them so you understand how they go together. They recommend using PVA to glue the parts together but I used a clear glue (Bostick or Uhu type) and had no problems. I found that it held the parts together better while you were assembling each floor.

The ground floor has a passageway through it which makes it a bit tricky at first but a quick dry fit should sort things out. A nice touch is that the walls and floor of the passage are painted as well. A little detail but it shows the thought that's gone into making the kits. The process is assemble the floor add the long side walls, then the end walls and finally the dividers.

The next step is to glue on the outside walls. Again you do the long walls first and then add in the end walls. This is pretty straightforward, just be careful with the glue and that's the ground floor done.

The next floor is easier than the ground floor as there is no passage. The process is otherwise identical.

The first floor carcass

The first floor with the exterior fitted.

The roof section is by far the trickiest and most fiddly. You start by glueing in the gable ends. You need to pay careful attention to the instructions here so you get the parts in the right place and facing the right way. Again dry fitting and checking with the pictures is a must.

After you have the base of the roof done the next stage is to assemble the roofs themselves. I had a problem fitting the roofs to their supports and this took a bit of fiddling about to get them to join up correctly. Just be patient! The worst part was the dormer windows. I managed to get the small parts together ok but getting them to fit nicely in the hole in the roof was impossible. In the end I just accepted there were going to be gaps and ran glue around the inside of the roof where it met the window to try and get a better seal.

I still have to add the cills to the windows and doors but I'm waiting till the glue hardens properly before I fiddle about with them. You also get chimneys but I'm not going to bother with them. Here's a couple of shots of the assembled model.

What do I think about the the kits? They're well thought out and in the main go together easily. The fact that you can lift off the various levels makes them great for hiding your troops in FoW. Also they're very sturdy and should stand up well to rough handling. The only downside might be that the burn marks from the laser cutting are visible which could annoy some people. But you can always buy the unpainted kits and do them yourself. Overall I give them a score of 9/10.