Page 38 of A Call to Home (Women of the Resistance #3)

Vis

June and July 1944

The officers and crew of HMS Blackmore were determined to discharge the responsibility for transporting Tito and his companions in style. Tito responded in similar manner. His marshall’s uniform had been left behind in the cave in Drvar, but he had got a new one made while they were in Bari, resplendent with more gold braid and red shoulder tabs. So, splendidly accoutred and freshly barbered, he was ceremoniously piped aboard. He was accompanied by Tigger and followed by Alix and the rest of the Supreme Council. Nikola and some of his men were also taken on board. The others would follow in a separate ship.

Once the formalities were over Tito and his Staff were taken down to the wardroom where they were offered gin and tonics. Then, as the ship steamed out of the harbour, dinner was served. The food was excellent, but it was the generosity of the drinks on offer that made the occasion truly memorable for Alix. They began with sherry before the meal, then there was white wine, followed by red wine, followed by port and liqueurs and finally champagne. Tito sampled each one and as the meal progressed, he became increasingly jovial. The rest of the assembled company matched him glass for glass and the atmosphere became extremely convivial. Alix noted with amusement that Tito’s command of the English language seemed to have grown as the evening progressed.

Eventually one of the officers commented on it.

‘I speak it like a native, no?’ Tito responded, his voice slightly slurred. ‘I can even recite an English poem for you.’

He rose to his feet and to Alix’s enormous delight proclaimed:

‘The owl and the pussy cat went to sea,

In a beautiful pea green boat.

They took some honey and plenty of money,

Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The owl looked up at the stars above,

And sang to a small guitar,

Oh beautiful pussy, oh pussy my love,

What a beautiful pussy you are!’

The applause that followed was thunderous.

Vis is the furthest island of the archipelago that runs along the Dalmatian coast and the nearest to the coast of Italy. When Alix followed Tito off the HMS Blackmore she could see at once that it had been turned into an ideal forward base for the RAF and the Royal Navy. The pretty town of Komisa, where they disembarked, was thronged with troops in the uniforms of both services and the roads as they drove eastwards were clogged with trucks and cars, which threw up clouds of red dust. The landscape of rocky hills clothed with forest grew wilder as they reached the highest point on the island, the mountain called Hum. Tito had sent two men ahead to find him suitable accommodation and they now directed their driver to turn off up a narrow road towards the mountain. They came to a stop, to Alix’s alarm, at the mouth of a cave and Tito got out. The floor of the cave was sandy and dry and the sunlight penetrated some way inside, making it less damp and gloomy than the cave at Drvar, but she had bad memories of that one and no wish to live in another one.

‘This is it,’ Tito proclaimed. ‘No danger from bombs here.’

It was useless to try to dissuade him, so his camp bed and his other possessions were brought in. There was a second cave nearby, which he suggested could accommodate the other members of the Staff, but Alix could see they had no intention of living in it.

‘This would make a good place for discussions,’ Djilas suggested tactfully. ‘We could keep it as a conference centre.’

‘There’s nowhere close my men can set up camp,’ Nikola pointed out. ‘We shall be down in the valley, but you can call me on the field telephone if I am needed.’

‘As long as I have Bosko and Prlja with me I shall be safe enough here,’ Tito said.

Since Drvar he had decided that he needed a personal bodyguard and asked Nikola to nominate two of his best men. Bosko and Prlja were big men, ex-miners, with craggy faces and big, calloused hands. Their appearance, armed with a tommy gun each, was enough to give any would-be attacker pause and they were completely devoted to Tito.

Maclean said, ‘Well, they’ve found a nice little house for me down by the sea so we shall base ourselves there.’ He looked at Alix. ‘You can’t expect a young woman to live in the cave with you, Tito. Alix had better move in with us.’

‘As long as she gets herself up here every morning, in case I need her,’ Tito grunted.

‘We shall be coming up to talk to you every morning,’ Djilas said. ‘We will bring her with us.’

Behind Maclean’s back Alix caught Steve’s eye and he grinned delightedly.

Life settled into a comfortable routine. Alix was given a room in the villa by the sea and nobody seemed to mind if Steve shared it with her. Every morning she travelled up the mountain in a car made available to the Supreme Council and took notes while they discussed future plans. Often Maclean was there too. In the afternoon they swam in the warm sea off a tiny sandy beach and sometimes Tito came down from his mountain fastness to join them. Alix preserved a vivid memory of Tito and Maclean striking out into the deeper water with herself, the two bodyguards and Tigger in formation behind them.

News from the mainland reached them via the BBC. Rome had fallen to the Allies and they were now outside Florence. The invasion forces in France were pushing inland. The end of the war seemed to be in sight.

One topic of concern was how to conceal Tito’s whereabouts from the Germans. Steve came up with an idea.

‘As far as the Boches know, he’s still on the mainland. Why not get the radio operator attached to one of the Partisan detachments to keep up a stream of signals, as if Tito is operating from there.’

The plan was accepted and messages in code went out to the leader of a detachment in Slovenia. He complied willingly, and a regular stream of encrypted messages purporting to come from Tito issued from his headquarters, until the attention of German surveillance aircraft became too intense and the scheme had to be abandoned.

There were two new arrivals on the island. Randolph Churchill had not stayed with them in Bari but had flown back to London. Now he reappeared together with a man Alix knew by reputation as a famous novelist. His name was Evelyn Waugh and she took an instant dislike to him. He seemed to expect everyone to think he was terribly clever and kept making silly jokes, the silliest of which was to claim that Tito was, in fact, a woman. Alix reported it to Tito, who made a point of coming down to swim. Waugh was brought down to the beach to meet him. He came out of the water wearing nothing but very brief swimming trunks.

‘Tell me,’ he said, offering his hand, ‘what makes you think I’m a woman?’

Waugh blushed and for once had nothing to say.

‘Why have you agreed to having him join us?’ Alix asked Maclean.

‘Randolph kept pestering me last time he was with us, saying he had no one to talk to. He wanted someone from Whites, his London club. He suggested Waugh and I agreed to shut him up, but now…’ he paused, ‘…now I’m beginning to regret it.’

Both Waugh and Randolph were great drinkers and Alix noticed that Randolph was often unpleasantly drunk and could be very rude when in his cups.

A company of British commandos had been stationed on the island and had carried out several successful raids on some of the other islands occupied by the Germans. They were about to be withdrawn and Tito was invited to inspect them before they boarded the plane. They paraded on the airstrip and after the inspection he made a speech thanking them for their courageous efforts.

These efforts had been greatly assisted by the Royal Yugoslav Navy, a force that had been set up by the residents of some of the occupied islands and which consisted mainly of old fishing boats armed with machine guns, with which they made a habit of harassing German supply ships. The local knowledge of the men who manned them had been an invaluable asset.

Partisan military potential was being developed in other ways, too. Tito was taken to inspect the Balkan School of Artillery, where Partisans were being instructed in the use of American howitzers. They had, their commander assured him, taken to the use of these weapons ‘like ducks to water’ and were already being tried out on raids of nearby islands.

One morning Maclean came up to the cave.

‘I have some rather important news. General Wilson, the Supreme Commander for the Mediterranean area, would like to see you to discuss future plans.’

Tito sat up sharply. Alix could see he was impressed. This was real proof of the recognition of the Partisans as valuable partners in the battle against Hitler. ‘General Wilson? Where?’

‘He is based in Naples. He will send his private plane to transport you and your team. He suggests you and your chief of staff, plus a secretary to take notes.’

‘Then tell him that I shall be pleased to meet with him,’ Tito replied.

After Maclean had left, Rankovic said, ‘Are we sure this man can be trusted? This could be a ploy to get you in his power, away from the rest of us.’

‘You think he might try to kidnap me?’ Tito asked, his elation replaced by doubt.

‘Surely not,’ Djilas said. ‘We have had ample proof that the British are willing to work with us over the last few months.’

‘I cannot refuse this invitation,’ Tito said, ‘but I shall take precautions.’ He turned to Velebit. ‘You will come, Vladko, as my chief of staff and Alix, of course, but I shall also take Bosko and Prlja. If there is any sign of double dealing they will have instructions to shoot the general.’ He looked at Alix. ‘And you will translate and also you will listen to what the English are saying between themselves, so you can warn me if there is any plotting going on.’

The arrangements were duly made and the party assembled at the RAF airfield, which had been created by rooting out the olive trees in a valley in the centre of the island and bulldozing the land flat. Maclean made no objections to the inclusion of the two bodyguards and, looking them over as they waited for the plane, he said, ‘Aren’t you going to bring Tigger? He’ll pine if you leave him behind.’

So Tigger came too.

On arrival in Naples, they were transported to the villa where General Wilson had taken up residence. Wilson was a large man with a rubicund face and an affable manner. He greeted them and led the way to the dining room where they were to have lunch. It was not a large room and the seating was somewhat cramped and this was Naples in the height of summer. Alix was thankful that while they were in Bari she had found a dressmaker who she had persuaded to make her a proper uniform, consisting of a pair of trousers and a tunic in grey linen. Even so, the sweat was running down her back. She had been tempted to buy a summer dress instead but reminded herself that she was still part of the National Liberation Army. Tito, on the other hand, had insisted on wearing his heavy marshall’s uniform and she felt heartily sorry for him.

The general took the head of the table, with Tito opposite him at the foot, while Maclean and Vladko Velebit sat on either side with Alix and one of the general’s aides next to them. Tigger slunk under the table. Two Italian waiters were standing by the door, ready to serve, but Bosko and Prlja shoved them aside and took up position, machine guns at the ready, one behind Tito’s chair and the other with his gun trained on Wilson. The meal began, in a very strained atmosphere. No one seemed to be able to think of anything to say. The two waiters were so terrorised by the guns that their hands were shaking and very soon one of them dropped a dish full of beans onto the table with a crash. Pandemonium broke out. Tigger howled and started snapping at people’s ankles, the waiters chattered and gesticulated and the trigger fingers of the two bodyguards twitched alarmingly. Then Wilson began to laugh, softly at first and then with great guffaws. Tito joined in, then so did everyone else. The bodyguards relaxed, the mess was cleared up and the meal proceeded in a very convivial manner.

After that, over the following days, the two sides got down to business. The main subject under discussion was the supply of arms and armaments to the Partisans. Tito wanted tanks but was persuaded that as things stood, they did not have the facilities to maintain them. However, he was told of the progress being made in Egypt in the training and preparation of a specialised tank squadron, for which he had seconded some of his men.

After a few days all the main items on the agenda seemed to have been covered, but Wilson seemed unwilling to let Tito go. He instituted a programme of visits and tours, including a trip to Rome, where Bosko and Prlja had to be dissuaded from carrying their tommy guns into St Peter’s. When Tito suggested that it was about time for him to go back to Vis, Maclean suggested darkly that there was somebody else who wanted to meet him, who was not there at present but who was coming to Naples soon.

Back in the villa where they had been accommodated, Tito grinned mischievously.

‘They think they are keeping me in the dark, but I know what is going on.’

One afternoon when they were being entertained on the island of Capri, they heard the sound of aircraft and saw a York bomber with a fighter escort flying into Naples airport.

‘Ah,’ Tito remarked. ‘Here comes Mr Churchill.’

He was right. It was Winston Churchill, on a visit to the naval force assembling in the Bay of Naples for the invasion of southern France. He was also keen to meet Tito. When the time came, Tito once again insisted on wearing his marshall’s uniform and as a result he was sweating copiously when they were introduced. As Alix knew, he did not find meeting strangers easy and was always nervous to begin with, and she was afraid that he had not given the Prime Minister a good impression. However, the awkwardness passed and they were soon chatting like old friends.

For Alix the next days felt like part of a dream sequence. After all that had happened, here she was taking notes while the man she admired more than any other talked on equal terms with the Prime Minister of England, the leader of one of the three Great Powers. It was clear that Mr Churchill had taken a great interest in Yugoslavian affairs and was very well informed about what had been happening. He and Tito pored over maps and discussed strategy for several days in the sweltering summer heat and Tito was clearly impressed to be discussing such things with one of the greatest men of the age.

There was one discordant note, however. Churchill maintained that he could not withdraw his support for King Peter. On that point there was no meeting of minds.

Back at the villa that evening Tito looked less impressed.

‘I knew it was foolish to put too much trust in the British. Mr Churchill is a very clever man, but he and I have very different goals. We must not rely too much on him.’

Steve’s diary.

August 10th, Vis

Alix and Tito arrived back yesterday and was I glad to see them.

It’s ten days since they flew to Naples and I hadn’t heard from Alix and

was imagining all sorts of disasters. Alix looks tired. She says the

heat in Naples was dreadful and they have been kept on the go non-stop

with meetings and visits and parties of one kind or another. The big

news is Churchill arrived while they were there and they had to delay

their return because he wanted to meet Tito. She says they seemed to get

on okay to begin with but by the time they left the relationship wasn’t

so cordial. Churchill wants Tito to push north to take Vienna before the

Russians get there, which doesn’t fit in with Tito’s plans at all, and

he made the mistake of lecturing him about the dangers of pressuring his

peasants into collective farms. Tito doesn’t take kindly to being

lectured about communism!

They have brought back with them a man called Subasic, who is now the head of the government in exile. Apparently, the plan is to arrive at some sort of agreement about the future role of King Peter. I can’t see that going very well.

August 13th

Tito and Subasic are still talking. Maclean says we need to keep

out of it so we spend our days swimming and sunbathing. Suits me, but

poor Alix is stuck inside taking notes for Tito.

August 15th

Well, they seem to have come to an agreement. Tito’s

administration and Subasic’s government in exile are to be merged into a

Royal Yugoslav Government, to last until Yugoslavia is liberated, after

which there will be free elections and the people can choose who they

want to be governed by. Alix thinks it’s the ideal solution, but somehow

I don’t see Tito sticking by it once he’s in control.

August 17th

To celebrate the agreement Tito took us all on a picnic to the

Blue Cave on the island of Bisevo, just offshore. It’s a fabulous place!

When the sun is at the right angle to shine into the cave it creates

blue phosphorescence in the water. We went in by boat and then everyone

stripped off and dived in. There was Tito and the Supreme Council and

Subasic and his advisers, all top politicians in this combined

government, all glowing blue and larking about like kids let out of

school. Afterwards we ate lobster and drank white wine but the sea was

choppy going home and several eminent diplomats were very sick.