Michael of the Falklands
The CBB -> Ste Therese's House
#1: Michael of the Falklands Author: Phil, Location: London UK PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 8:06 am

April 1982

South Atlantic
“Abandon Ship! Abandon Ship! Abandon Ship!”
Lt Cdr Michael Maynard was evacuating his crew from a rapidly sinking HMS Archer, a Type 21 frigate, listing to Starboard, having been torpedoed. Fire raged through the aluminium superstructure. Captain Wallace was dead, as were any number of crewmen below decks. Inflatable rafts dotted the sea like spots of measles. A burns victim was lowered into one of the rafts.

Argentine aircraft tore overhead shooting at the sailors below. A bullet grazed Mike on the head and he fell into the water. CPO Costa made brave attempts to retrieve Lt Cdr Maynard, but with enemy aircraft overhead, his attempts were in vain. Sickened, he marshalled the survivors to link rafts and make for the shore, which was fortunately within sight.

Days later Sister Margaret, once Margot Maynard, surveyed the coastline of West Falkland. She had been caught up in the occupation of the Falklands Islands. She had been able to persuade her captors to let her out for a walk, and event to help with any war wounded.

Under guard, by a hungry, tired 16 year old, Margot examined the beach. Surely, there wasn’t a body on the beach over there? She scrambled down to investigate. This was some mother’s son! Someone’s brother perhaps! Someone who deserved a Christian burial! Her guard followed, bored. He quite admired the tough British nun. She reminded him of his own big sister, who was in a convent in Brazil. How he missed his sister!

Margot had faced death before. She had been shot at in Venezuela, kidnapped in the Congo for a couple of weeks and seen large scale famine and civil war in South East Asia. Tough as she was, and not very demonstrative in her emotions, nothing prepared her for what she was about to face now.

The body was lying face down. Margot knelt in prayer, whilst her guard stood respectfully to one side. She gently rolled the body over and was about to search for identification, but she didn’t need any. There was no mistaking that fair hair, the baby face and now empty, blue eyes. She was looking at her brother Michael.

“Michael…Michael…Michael…” whimpered Margot. A long hidden and horrible memory surfaced in her mind. When she was about three, Mama had received news that Papa was dead. It had broken her. Now what was she going to do?

 

#2:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 8:53 am

Oh how sad. Poor Mike and poor Margot. Thanks for all these drabbles, Phil.

 

#3:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:06 am

Oh that is sad Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad

 

#4:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:19 am

Thanks, Phil. That was ever so sad to read. It must have taken a lot of courage to write.

 

#5:  Author: Nell, Location: London, England PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:37 am

Thank you Pihil. So sad.

 

#6:  Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 1:00 pm

Oh poor Margot *hugs her*. Loosing a relative is so difficult anyway, to find out about it that way must be so difficult. Thanks Phil.

 

#7:  Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 1:02 pm

Phil this is great. Such a dramatic and tragic thing to have happen to her.

Thanks for all the drabbles.

 

#8:  Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 1:45 pm

That was wonderfully written, Phil, thanks. Poor Margot, having to be the one who found him.

 

#9:  Author: LadyGuinevere, Location: Leicester PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 4:13 pm

*hugs to Michael and Margot* What a terrible thing to have happened Crying or Very sad

 

#10:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 7:33 pm

Oh gosh how awful.

Thank you for writing that, Phil

 

#11:  Author: Phil, Location: London UK PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 8:11 am

Something cracked in Margot. Afterwards, she could never explain it. The least demonstrative of the Maynard children howled hysterically and wept, much to her guard’s alarm. Michael looked like he did when he was a baby. He looked so peaceful there.

No one who knew Margot in her Chalet School days before her reformation would have recognised the sobbing wreck on the beach now as Mary Margaret Maynard, the wicked triplet. Oh what she would have done for the warm comforting arms of her parents or aunts or uncles! If only Auntie Hilda were here to advise! She wanted her remaining brothers and sisters and cousins.

She prayed again, welcoming Michael’s soul into the Kingdom of Heaven. She then sobbed over his body. “Michael, Mike, It’s Margot, your sister. You You’ve gone to Heaven now! Don’t worry about Mama and Papa, I will tell them! No one is cross with you Mike.” Margot felt in Michael’s pockets for a photograph he had especially waterproofed and took with him all the time. She found it in his left shirt breast pocket. It had survived the ravages of the sea. She saw her parents in the centre, Len, Con, herself, Steve, Chas, Felix, Felicity, Cecil, Geoff and Phil. Michael had taken this photo last Christmas. “Mike I don’t know if you realised, but we loved you, we all did! I’m sorry Mike!”

Her guard, Juan caught the words. He had some basic English. “Your brother?” he said to the tearful Margot, who nodded, grief stricken. At once Juan was overwhelmed with emotion. How would his sister feel if he were killed? He must help this woman now. He must and he would! The sight of a sister mourning her brother was too much for him, and he agreed to carry the body of his slain foe back to the convent. He would also take the risk of helping her communicate with her family.

 

#12:  Author: Robin, Location: London PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 11:30 am

how heartbreaking.
Thanks Phil

 

#13:  Author: Le Petite Em, Location: Cheltenham PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 3:52 pm

This is so sad- (((Margot and Mike!!!!)))

 

#14:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 7:58 pm

Ohhhhhh how sad.

Thank you Phil

 

#15:  Author: Phil, Location: London UK PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2005 1:03 pm

Joey was entertaining her seventeen year old granddaughter to her tales of the Chalet School in the dark ages. Holly Entwhistle listened obediently, but was relieved at the arrival of the post. Suddenly Grandmama’s face paled at the sight of a letter she was reading,

“The Admiralty regrets to announce…” Holly suddenly felt sick. What was that horrible story about Grandpapa being lost at sea during the war?

Grandpapa ambled along in his carpet slippers. “Joey, don’t read that letter!” Holly had never seen him so active!

Jack had received a garbled message from Margot to say that Michael was dead. He was too late. Joey sank to a sofa, Jack collapsed next to her. Holly’s voice quavered, “Uncle Mike?”

Jack shook his head. “Dead” all trace of life out of his voice. “He’s dead. Auntie Margot found his body, washed up on the shore. She has prayed for him and taken his body for burial. Mike, oh Mike…” Jack wept.

“No!” Joey sobbed bitterly on her weeping husband’s shoulder. Holly was frightened. Her Uncle Mike dead, and her grandparents crying! If only Mum was here!

Len walked straight in with Reg, and was by her parents at once. “Mama! Papa! What’s happened?”
“What’s the matter Holly?” asked her Father. Then Reg saw the letter. He read it. “Oh no, not Mike. No.”

Len had caught on to what the problem was, running straight to Reg’s arms. “I’m sorry sweetheart. It’s true. It says he was helping the wounded to abandon ship, when under enemy fire, he was shot and fell into the water.”

The grief hit the family all round. Reg telephoned other members: Con in her London flat, Stephen in his engineering company in Oxford, Charles at his church in Arundel, Then there was Felix and Felicity in their respective theatre and ballet companies. Lastly, Cecily, Geoff and Philippa were called. They returned in haste to Freuedesheim.

At different intervals, each of them would go to Mike’s old room and pull out something: a copy of the “Eagle” comics, a shirt, a teddy bear from very young days, or a photo of Mike in naval dress uniform. Joey slept on his bed for a couple of hours, and Jack held baby Michael’s teddy bear close to him.

 

#16:  Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2005 1:10 pm

Thanks Phil. It's easy to see how the death of one of them would cause such pain in a close-knit family.

 

#17:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2005 1:44 pm

I'm all choked up now.

Thank you Phil

 

#18:  Author: Robin, Location: London PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2005 1:47 pm

me too.
Thanks Phil Crying or Very sad

 

#19:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2005 1:59 pm

This is so sad. Thanks (sort of!), Phil.

 

#20:  Author: Elisabeth,  PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2005 8:09 pm

How tragic. I like the way the family are all sticking together at this time. It is very sweet. I loved Margot praying over Mike's body.

 

#21: the end Author: Phil, Location: London UK PostPosted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 10:33 am

It had been a nightmare for Margot. Juan had helped dig the grave, then deserted the army. Margot had had to represent her entire family at Mike’s funeral. He was given a proper Christian burial.

Margot reflected, “Should I have brought his body back to Freuedesheim or England?” She dismissed this as impractical. Besides, her grandparents Col and Mrs Bettany were buried in India. Sybil and Josette had settled in Australia for good. Daisy and Primula’s brothers and father were buried in Australia, their own mother had been buried in the Tirol. In any case, poor Mike’s body was just a shell now. His soul was in Heaven with God, along with Uncle Jem who had passed away about thirteen years ago.

The Falklands conflict had ended, and Margot had had some leave granted. Jack had told her that a government inquiry into the sinking of HMS Archer had found Michael to have behaved with valour and he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

As she reached Interlaken, she was very tired and was met by her youngest brother and sister Phil and Geoff.

Margot had never been happier to be back in her bed at Freuedesheim. Always the adventurous one, she had been eagerly her next post some new part of the world and doing her job as a medical missionary. Now she just wanted home!

Awake the next morning, she asked Geoff where Charles was. She had not seen him when she had come in.

“Gone to our old school. They wanted someone to do a talk on Mike. A number of teachers remember him fondly as an ex Head Boy. Steve wouldn’t hear of it. He’s too upset. Charlie said he would do it.”

“That’s good. It will help him and us get over this.” Was Margot’s reply.

And so in Armiford, Charles Maynard eyed the school noticeboards commemorating those who gave their lives during The Great War, The Second World War and in “Other Conflicts”. Under “Other conflicts” some had lost their lives in The Korean War, Suez, Aden and then the Falklands. There was a fresh name painted on this board: Lt Cdr Michael Richard Maynard. A picture of Mike as Head Boy smiled out from a photograph set up on a table with some flowers. Charles smiled grimly.

A number of staff members had offered their condolences to Charles on his arrival. They remembered Mike very well! Charles had been treated to some tea, then assembly began. The boys were all in, the staff filed in, then the Head. After some notices and a hymn, the Head introduced Charles, who began,

“Good morning. I’ve come to talk about my brother, sometime Head Boy of this school…”

Charles carried on, holding his audience spellbound. Even some of the older boys looked tearful. Having done his duty by Mike, Charles took the first available plane for Switzerland to greet his sister Margot, and stay with the family to come to terms with the loss of Mike. It was a Bettany / Maynard strength that the family could rely on each other to pull them through this crisis. They knew Mike wouldn’t want them to be upset, but to get on with their lives. However, they never forgot their mad mischievous Mike. A photograph of him always remained in the Speisesaal, showing him laughing, without a care in the world, in navy uniform, the way they remembered him.

 

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