Good afternoon, Robina. Ah...
Jan was so excited for me to meet you and the baby.
Harry. Lois is here.
Kasia held the baby! Hello, Harry
We have three sets of land mines on the road
between us and the Italians.
Now these lads will be risking their bollocks clearing them.
EXPLOSION
SINGING IN GERMAN
I have no choice but to fight for my country.
Where's Lois! Where is she? Lois? Lois?
You need to bail, Shortbread!
You took your time. Last man out of Dunkirk, was you?
Good to see you, Sergeant.
Lads! Lieutenant Chase has decided to join us.
All right, Sir. War'll be over in six weeks!
It's good to see you, Joe. You too, sir.
This is George, Sir... George.
Welcome to hell, Sir.
Well, if the sand doesn't get in your arse crack,
then the flies will get in your wedding tackle.
That's how we lost our last officer.
Septic foreskin. Nasty.
Not seen much action yet,
but maybe the Italians were waiting for you to arrive, Sir.
That's Rajib. In charge of the Sappers.
Same rank as you but more convincing.
Bit full of himself, but I'd be full of myself
if I'd single-handedly blew a hole in a mountain
so the Scots Guards could get through and chase the enemy.
PLANE FLIES OVERHEAD
Every afternoon, the Italians fly over,
just to show us they know where we are.
They never attack, Sir.
But I think you kept your dignity. That's the main thing.
Fuck off, Sergeant.
How's that Polish wife of yours?
You ever see her again, or did you go home
and make it up with the one you got up the duff?
My wife, Kasia, is safe.
She's in England, living with my mother.
I thought you said she was safe.
That is the thing about Gandalf.
He has tricked Bilbo Baggins into having a party for the dwarves.
You say he forced Bilbo to host a party with no notice
and then recruited him to undertake an arduous journey.
That is what is good about the story.
Bilbo decides to do it.
I need to read more now.
Once your court case is over, perhaps he'll relax more.
You have Jan here, you have Grzegorz here.
You need to shape up. I cannot hide what is inside me.
Oh, of course you can.
You aren't the first woman who's been compelled by circumstance
to hide their anger. Every rock bun at the Women's Institute
bears testimony to a woman's rage.
BABY COOS
Next leave I get,
we'll get a stonemason to put Dad's name on under Mum's.
Josie Bennett and Douglas Bennett.
Second billing.
It's what he'd have wanted.
There you are, Dad. Happy now?
Pacifist proves his point by getting killed by Hitler.
Beauty.
I've got to go. Me too.
I've got a date with a battleship.
I mean I've got to get away...
..from here.
No. You can't do that, Lois.
You're all I've got.
We're all we've got now.
I wanted to die in that house.
When it started coming down, I didn't run.
I waited.
I just wanted it to kill me.
To the second man we've lost this week.
To Jack. He was a fine pilot.
GUNFIRE AND ROARING ENGINES
Well, he was OK.
That was in poor taste.
Was it, Stephen?
Sorry.
He was a fine pilot.
HE PLAYS A WISTFUL MELODY
David, all the pilots we've lost,
and all you can do is joke about it?
Can you think of a better response?
I think we've both lost enough mates to stop treating death
like one big joke, don't you?
I think I've lost enough mates to know it is one big joke.
I worry how it effects a chap if he can't show any sorrow.
And the morale of the others.
I didn't say I wasn't sorry.
The laughter isn't hiding my feelings, Sir.
It is my feelings.
Perhaps it's a Jewish thing.
Well...
..if you can't laugh about half the world hating you,
what can you laugh about?
Last time most of us were engaging the enemy, we were retreating,
getting out of Dunkirk to save our own skins.
Today is different - cos today, we're on the front foot.
We move to position one,
secure Bardis and clear the way for the next regiment.
Rajib and the Sappers will make sure we don't get blown up along the way.
We'll try to make sure.
We'll lay minefields east and west to limit the enemy's escape route.
What if the Italians fly over, Sir?
You lie very still, hold your balls and pray.
LAUGHTER
Just like any other night, then.
It's imperative that we go undiscovered.
If Operation Compass fails,
we lose the Eastern Mediterranean and the Suez Canal.
And if we fail, the Nazis cut off our oil supply
and they have Europe secure in their grasp.
We lose North Africa to the Nazis, we lose Europe too.
We lose our oil supply, we lose the war.
So British forces will drive the Italians out of Egypt,
and after that, we drive the Nazis out of Europe.
Yes! Come on!
First drinks are on Sarge...
Nice speech.
Thanks.
You fought the Italians elsewhere?
Ethiopia.
The Italian soldiers didn't want to be there.
In fairness, my men didn't much want to be there either,
but it's amazing what we can get the lower classes to do
for three square meals and a little bit of money to send home, hey?
What about you? Where have you fought?
Northern France, Dunkirk.
Home.
Home was the bloodiest.
OK, well, I'm sorry to tell you that my boys are such a good unit,
you'll be going home again in no time.
Maybe we all will.
BABY CRIES
Hello.
I'm sorry I'm so early.
Joyce isn't here yet.
But I am, so... Thank you.
If you don't mind.
You look exhausted.
Do you have time to sit for a while?
I feel as though my life is happening to somebody else.
That's how it is.
When the Germans killed my mother...
That's a good way of saying how grief is.
I don't think it's grief.
I wish it was.
But I know what grief feels like, and this isn't it.
She's very beautiful, your baby.
Thank you.
It must be hard for you, on your own.
It is. Yes.
But you wouldn't be without her.
I mean, after your loss, at least you have something to live for.
People say that, don't they?
And I agree with them when they do.
But, inside, I would be without her tomorrow.
I don't think you mean that.
I do.
What will you do, now that you're here?
The same as you.
Find a way to get away.
How do you know that's what I want?
Because you are so keen to tell me you can't grieve your father,
and that you have no love for your baby.
It is as though if you say it often enough,
you will believe it yourself. And if you believe it,
then you can forgive yourself for getting out.
Do you think it's unforgivable...
..if I go?
You may never forgive yourself.
But I'm not telling you not to go.
I'm warning you...what you will have to be strong enough to live with.
What are you looking so happy about?
Nice to have a change of scene, eh? Change of scene?
You're joking me. We're driving ten miles to more sand
that looks just like the sand where we came from.
This is going to be Italian occupied sand. Oh, great!
Sand with added Italian machine gun fire.
We're digging in half an hour from their base.
Sitting ducks.
The Sergeant said...
..he's going to find Germans.
The Italians can't shoot.
Nothing to worry about.
GUNFIRE
I thought you said they weren't good shots, Sarge.
They missed you, didn't they?
If we take out the machine gunner,
they're not going to hang around with light arms.
We've got 50 seconds between reloads.
They're reloading! Blow it!
Take cover!
Now go, go! Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!
BULLETS RICOCHET
Grenade!
Nice bowling, sir.
Bit of a suspect action, but did the job.
Good-looking bastards, aren't they?
I think you might have been in the desert too long, Stan.
They don't seem to have much fight in them.
Mussolini wanted a fight. Not them.
See if you can find anything useful in here.
I hear the Italians have good food, good wine.
BELL RINGS
Mrs Chase? James Danemere.
I understand you've been expecting me.
I'm delighted to meet you. Erm...
You were expecting me, weren't you?
I hope this is the right house. It is Mrs Chase, isn't it?
I was told to expect you after Christmas.
That's what the War Office informed me. Ah!
BABY CRIES Oh, I, er...
I understood you'd already given shelter
to a young Polish refugee.
I was led to believe they was a tad older than... Ah, no, no, no.
Jan, the young Polish refugee, is 12 years old.
That is my grand daughter you can hear.
I wasn't entirely serious.
Terrible sense of humour, I'm afraid.
Spend too long surrounded by junior staff at the Civil Service
who feel obliged to laugh at my awful jokes
in the hope of impressing me.
Well, do come in. Thank you.
A token of my thanks.
Thank you. Flowers are so hard to find these days.
Well, I probably should have brought two cabbages and a cauliflower,
but I think we should grab the small luxuries while we can.
Indeed. Joyce, could you find a vase for these, please?
And show Sir James to his room.
Oh, I just need directions, not an escort. Thank you.
I was in the RAF in the Great War.
So, er, navigation is one of my few strong points.
Of course. Er...
Well, it's upstairs to the right, follow the corridor...
I have to say, I have no idea what the protocol
or social form is for this situation.
Thank the Lord for that! Neither do I.
But if I can reassure you, I shall be mostly absent.
And when I am here, I endeavour not to disturb the peace.
Oh, I shouldn't worry about that.
Peace is in rather short supply, I'm afraid.
I can't imagine either of us thought our lives would take such a turn,
and yet here we are.
Up the stairs and to the left, you say? Oh, to the ri-...
Oh, now, is dinner a formal affair or am I to eat in my room
like a travelling salesman with a guilty conscience?
Ah. I really had no indication that dining was to be involved.
I'm teasing you, Robina.
I dare say you should get used to that.
I doubt that very much.
Monsieur.
Like Aladdin's Cave.
Do you ever wonder if we might be fighting on the wrong side, sir?
It's an old wound, sir.
It's already septic.
Barbed wire just took the top off.
I've done what I can, but you need to look after it.
All right. Thank you, George.
This sword's going to come in handy.
Lieutenant! You better come take a look.
Sandstorm's coming.
Looks like a belter!
No wonder they surrendered.
If your life's this good, you're not going to want it to end, are you?
SWING MUSIC PLAYS
Is this the wild time you promised me?
Oh, it's early.
You are not like the Jewish guys back in Warsaw, you know?
Cos, er, they were all married off by the time they were your age.
You sound like my grandad -
"Why can't you find a nice Jewish girl to marry?"
Lois. Er, David, this is my friend, Lois.
Lois, this is David.
I'll get you a drink. Just, er...
Sit down, please.
So Grzegorz said you were the singer.
I've not done much singing lately.
My dad died, went a bit mad, and now they worry if they give me
a microphone, I'll just stand there crying.
Right.
Sorry about your dad.
So, are you going to proposition me now
or wait until you've got a drink in you? What?
What line are you going to use?
"We might be dead tomorrow, so we may as well have some fun"?
I've got better lines than that.
Word to the wise, mate -
don't use them on me. I'm bad luck.
I don't believe that.
My mum died when I was ten. My house just got bombed.
The love of my life got me pregnant but married someone else.
My dad died.
Oh, and the last pilot to ask me to marry him
got killed in the Battle of Britain.
Well...
..maybe I'm the good luck you've been waiting for.
Nah.
Here you are. That's for you.
Hello again, folks.
Hope you enjoyed the interval.
WOLF WHISTLE
These are good.
They help your eyes adjust to night flying.
I didn't think they were for fashion.
Pirates wore eye patches for the same reason.
I see myself pretty much as a...
..an Air Pirate.
So is this what you had in mind?
Very much so.
How long has Lois been so...
Unpredictable? Always.
But this bad?
That's since her dad died.
No wonder she wants to run away.
She told you about that, did she?
Seems like a good idea.
She's got a baby. It'll be looked after.
Babies do survive that kind of thing, you know.
Speaks the expert. Speaks one of those babies.
My grandparents raised me.
And look at me. More or less perfect.
More or less.
FOOTSTEPS
DOOR OPENS, CLOSES
The police understand there must be no further contact. Over.
INDISTINCT CRACKLY RADIO
Drops weekly. Same place. Over.
ANGUISHED CRIES
THUMPS AND BUMPS OF A BEATING
Sandstorm isn't passing any time soon, lads,
so get bedded down till it does.
How do you spell "irresistible"?
Writing to your sister?
My sweetheart.
In case I don't see her again.
Mate, we'll be fine.
That thing I said - you know, about us sitting ducks and all that?
Take no notice. I'm just a moaning bugger, OK?
Yeah. Stick with me.
My looks, your brains, we'll be just fine.
You got some spare paper?
If we're going to be just fine, why do you want to write a letter?
Not that kind of paper. I mean bog roll. I've already used my three sheets.
DOOR SLAMS
Jan.
Sir James?
I hear you play chess.
Huh.
You've been well taught, Jan.
But you need to be more deceptive.
Sometimes, it's necessary to expose one flank as open to attack
in order to trick your opponent into thinking
you're more vulnerable than you actually are.
And then you can spring the trap from the other flank.
You win by deceit.
I win by guile.
That may or may not involve deceit.
I do hope you aren't encouraging Jan in bad habits, Sir James.
Oh, undoubtedly.
But he's a very fine player without my help.
Jan was telling me about your daughter-in-law
and her unfortunate altercation in a tea room.
Was he?
Well, "unfortunate" is a very good description.
If there's anything I can do.
Not really. It's a legal matter.
And embarrassing.
Well, as luck would have it,
I specialise in both legal matters and embarrassment.
If you want to take me into your confidence, I may be able to help.
Ah...
Check.
Nairobi Station, and the arrival by train of 200 Ats,
the first batch of girls from the United Kingdom
for service in East Africa.
"ATS - Adventure Through Service," say the recruiting posters.
Well, here's a slice of adventure, all right.
And nice cups of tea to go with it.
Never thought I'd want to see the sun and the flies again,
but anything's got to be better than that fucking sandstorm. Agreed.
Are we in Egypt or Libya now, sir?
Er, Egypt. Why?
Well, cos if I cop it, I'd like to know where.
Two minutes!
Right, then, you heard the Lieutenant. Let's go!
Move it! Move it!
Two minutes, lads. You all know what you're doing. We're infantry.
We do the hard bit!
Joe's not here, Sarge. What?
What do you mean? Where's he gone? Sightseeing?
He went for a dump in the night. I thought he'd come back.
He must have lost his way in the sandstorm.
How long's he been missing? I don't know, sir.
Could be six hours or more.
Cairo, you say? Yes. It's in Egypt.
Yes. I...
I'm aware of the geography.
That is not what I'm puzzled by.
There's an ATS Ambulance Service out there.
And if your father were alive, if Douglas was still here,
what do you suppose he'd say? He'd have said, "Don't go."
And I wouldn't have paid a blind bit of notice.
I just know I need to do my bit.
And looking after your daughter and keeping her safe
is not doing your bit? No.
It isn't.
I wish it was, but it really isn't.
You do realise that what you're doing is quite unnatural?
If I stay here, then I will die.
Would that be natural enough for you? We're at war.
We all might die. I don't mean like that.
It will destroy me.
It IS destroying me.
I admire your honesty, if not your judgment.
I know of many mothers who may have wished to do what you're proposing.
But you're the only one I've met who seems intent
on going through with it.
I was the only kid in the street with a dad who was a conchie,
so being the only one is not a problem for me.
I assume the reason you're sharing this news with me
is because you expect me to take on the full time care of Vera.
Well, you and Joyce. Yes.
Of your son's child.
Yes, I'm aware that she's my son's child. Thank you, Lois.
I'm sorry.
But, yes.
Not forever.
And why should I help you?
Because...
..you know what it's like not to have maternal feelings.
Pointing out my shortcomings seems a curious way to curry favour with me.
I didn't mean to insult you.
I was just...
I was just trying to make you understand.
Well, I do understand.
I just don't approve.
But then I'm sure my disapproval is neither here nor there to you.
Ah! Kasia, he's here!
Oh, Sir James. We are forever in your debt.
Isn't that so, Kasia? Yes.
Thank you. How did you do it?
Well, my solicitor said that someone had spoken to the police,
somebody with considerable influence.
So, thank you.
Oh, it was my absolute pleasure.
Er, the man sounded like a pompous ass, anyway.
Influence. Not guile and deceit?
Kasia is delighted.
Isn't that so, Kasia?
She just finds it a little difficult to show it.
Isn't that what you told Jan?
That guile and deceit might be the way to win?
I did. And it speaks well of him that he can quote me exactly.
I hope you don't think that I've corrupted him.
I wouldn't want to muddy his grasp of right and wrong.
It would take more than a stranger beating him at chess to corrupt him.
Ah.
But thank you for helping me. I do appreciate it.
Good. Good.
I'm just happy to be of use. Oh, yes.
Thank you.
Have you written the letter?
Died in battle. Taking on the enemy.
Usual comforting lie.
It's not a lie, though, is it?
The desert IS the enemy.
Worst enemy I've ever faced.
Here's to comforting lies, hey, Rajib?
To comforting lies.
I really didn't think I would have a tree this year.
Yes, it was just standing in the churchyard.
I'm sure nobody will miss it.
I take it that's your sense of humour again.
Guilty as charged.
It was in the office.
There was nobody there. It seemed a shame not to commandeer it
for morale boosting purposes.
Do I seem in need of morale boosting?
I'm hardly the person to talk to about babies.
Erm, it's not really my field of expertise.
Erm, but...
..in the end, the little mite is your grandchild.
I know.
But if I say I will have Vera, then I feel like I'm...
..colluding with her flit.
And if you don't?
Well, I rather fear she'll find somebody else to look after the baby
and go anyway.
Well, it is Christmas, I suppose.
I-I'm sorry. I don't understand the relevance.
Well, the season when babies are left at the, er,
mercy of a stranger's kindness.
I think, you're thinking of Moses in the bullrushes.
Oh, yes.
It's the wrong time of year. Wrong country too.
Hmm. And Old Testament. Old Testament.
Well, I haven't known you very long, Robina,
but, erm, it strikes me you really don't have a choice.
Besides which, you have a ready made mother in waiting.
Is there?
Well, Kasia. Your son's wife.
I mean, it's his baby.
She's stuck here with nothing to do.
Surely with a little gentle persuasion, she'd help?
It's Christmas Eve.
RADIO: Enemy planes spotted, bearing - 15 miles out,
60 degrees. Over.
OK, children. We're in business.
David, you're with me.
What, they've sent bombers to Manchester? At Hanukkah?
I take this very personally indeed.
AIR RAID SIREN WAILS
Hi, Doris.
DISTANT BOMBS EXPLODE
CROCKERY RATTLES
RADIO: David, enemy sighted.
Heinkel ahead. Can't see cover.
Viper going in.
Stephen, he's in my sights. Take him.
Heinkel hit, she's down. Over.
I'm hit. I'm hit.
Eject! Stephen, eject!
BABY CRIES
Welcome to the British Indian Army.
He needs a hospital!
L'infirmiere Guilbert - where is she?
The RAF have been trying to kill me for years, mate.
Every time I survive, they give me a more dangerous job.
WHISTLING