Colonial Music and Dance

by Denise Weimer

One of the ways I’ve always enjoyed creating period setting in my historical novels is through the use of music and dance. A song can capture any mood, including that of an era or area. Most recently, I've focused on the Colonial years in my writing.

During the American Revolution, Colonists enjoyed tunes they’d brought over from their native countries. Some of them, like “Lavender’s Blue” (English, printed 1670s-80s), “The Willow Tree” (a much older tune printed in Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, 1776), “Barbara Allen” (British or Scottish) and “The Girl I Left Behind Me” (English fife tune long known but popularized in America during the Revolution) traced back a hundred years or more. "Johnny Has Gone For a Soldier," based on the Irish folk song "Shule Aroon," became popular during the Revolution as well.

Colonists also enjoyed the music from stage musicals like The Beggar’s Opera, performed in London as early as 1728 and in the Colonies by 1750, taking home printed copies to play and sing.

The turbulent emotions of the Revolution also generated new music, like “The Rich Lady Over the Sea,” born of taxation resentment. “My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free” became the first song penned by an American, Francis Hopkinson of Philadelphia, in 1759. The verses were included in a 1788 collection of songs for his personal friend, George Washington. Hopkinson signed the Declaration of Independence for New Jersey and helped design the American flag.

Any article on American Revolution-period music would be remiss without mention of “Yankee Doodle.” The song was said to have been written by a British Army surgeon as a sarcastic critique of the motley American troops during the French and Indian War. Those troops adopted it as their own. Origins of the American version remain unclear. Some attribute it to Richard Schukburgh of New York in 1755, but apparently, proof is lacking. Rumor also has it that during the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, the British band played “The World Turned Upside Down,” while the Americans played “Yankee Doodle.”

What about dancing of the time period? If the guests were attending a formal ball, their arrival around seven p.m. would be greeted with light refreshments. Minuets began every ball and were arranged from the highest ranking couple in the room to lowest, danced in silence where the man led the dance by signaling his partner with arm movements and intense eye contact. One couple would dance while the others watched. Jigs and hornpipes from France were also popular. These included personal routines with step combinations and floor patterns adapted to the skills of a soloist or two dancers for jigs. Allemandes, rigadoons, and gavottes taught at dancing schools were choreographed to display skill. A seated supper would commence at ten. By midnight, the dancing would resume. At five a.m, the last weary guests would leave.

More casual dances included Scottish reels and country dances with couples creating long lines facing each other, danced with two or three couples at a time, then progressing, moving down the line and back up, dancing with every couple on the floor twice. The top couple often chose the dance and recited the figures.

Denise Weimer writes historical and contemporary romance from her home in North Georgia and also serves as a freelance editor and the Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books. A mother of two young adult daughters, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

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A Tidy Bottom For A Happy Baby

 

By Suzanne Norquist

As a new grandmother, I find myself discussing diapers with my daughter. Like an old woman, I say things like, “In my day, there were rubber pants . . . but they were made of plastic, not rubber.”

And, “Think of those old-time pictures where small children wore no pants at all.” She says, “No thanks” to that mess. At the same time, I realize that many climates are too cold for bare bottoms.

And so here is a blog about the history of diapers.

In warm climates, parents often left their babies’ bottoms bare. To prevent messes, they learned how to anticipate when the child needed to go. There is a technique called “elimination communication,” which sounds more like potty training for parents. This method was used until recently in China. When the need arose, a mother could hold the baby over a pot or out in the street.

In cold climates, parents made a diaper out of animal skin lined with moss or grass. Where cloth was available, it would be layered to keep the child clean. Europeans swaddled their babies in linen. Although this sounds cozy, the fabric wasn’t changed often or cleaned well. No one knew that cleanliness prevented diseases.

Cloth diapers, as we think of them, didn’t really appear until the late 1800s. With the Industrial Revolution, more people had nice furniture to protect. At that time, machines could make cloth, and safety pins had been invented. In 1887, Marie Allen created the first mass-produced cloth diapers in the United States.

Because people had learned about germs, they boiled diapers and hung them out to dry.

Of course, mothers and seamstresses continued to refine the design, even if only within their small circle. In an 1897 article in the Rocky Mountain News, Denver, CO, Mrs. Bertha Janet Gunn describes concerns about most diapers.

“A heavy diaper, for instance, which always holds the child’s legs out, or the flannel bellyband which is pulled so tightly around its yielding little body, and fastened with pins that are forever in danger of slipping out and sticking into its delicate flesh.”

She created patterns to solve these problems and sold both patterns and pre-made diapers.

“My diaper is cut on the bias, so the seat is larger and baggy, and there is very little cloth to fold between the legs, so the little legs can lie straight out.”

Accidents were common since cloth doesn’t stop all moisture from leaking out. In the 1920s, parents often put rubber pants over the fabric. However, rubber tended to irritate the skin. In the 1950s, plastic pants replaced them, but they were still called “rubber pants.”

Newspaper advertisements in the early 1900s promoted various types of diapers, including double diapers, linen diapers, cotton diapers, and rubber diapers.

Disposable ones improved the quality of life for generations of moms and babies. In the 1940s, when World War II caused a shortage of cotton, moms got creative, leading to the invention of the disposable diaper. Several people are credited with the idea.

Some of the first efforts included a Swedish paper company that attempted to use sheets of tissue pads. Rubber pants kept it all in, but it resulted in mushy balls of paper. A Scottish woman used old parachutes for the outside with cellulose wadding and cotton wool inside. This product never took off.

In the late 1940s, Marion Donovan used shower curtain material to create a leak-proof diaper cover. Her design included snap fasteners instead of safety pins. This product, known as the Boater because it resembled a boat, was used with cloth diapers. However, it inspired disposable diaper makers. Layered tissue paper (which must be sturdier than what the Swedish paper company used) could be used instead of cloth. 

In 1961, Procter and Gamble brought Pampers to market. Employee and grandfather Vic Mills saw room for improvement in existing products. He used cellulose instead of paper fibers for better absorption.

Over time, other companies entered the market. Improvements included increased absorbency, an hourglass shape, elastic in the legs, biodegradable materials, and additional features.

Now, parents can choose between improved versions of cloth diapers or disposables. New moms, like my daughter, will never know the frustration of pinning an ill-fitting cloth diaper on her baby and pulling a plastic pant over the top.

***

”Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection

Four historical romances celebrating the arts of sewing and quilting.

Mending Sarah’s Heart by Suzanne Norquist

Rockledge, Colorado, 1884

Sarah seeks a quiet life as a seamstress. She doesn’t need anyone, especially her dead husband’s partner. If only the Emporium of Fashion would stop stealing her customers, and the local hoodlums would leave her sons alone. When she rejects her husband’s share of the mine, his partner Jack seeks to serve her through other means. But will his efforts only push her further away?

Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas, “A Song for Rose” in A Bouquet of Brides Collection and “Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection. Everything fascinates her. She has worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and attends kickboxing class.

 

John Bidwell: Soldier, Farmer, and Lovelorn Beau

 by Martha Hutchens

image by mikeledray, deposit photos

John Bidwell traveled to California in 1841 at the age of 22. He soon became John Sutter’s business manager and was among the first to learn of the gold discovery at Sutter’s Mill. Shortly after, he found gold himself at the Feather River.

At that time, California was under Mexican control. Bidwell became a Mexican citizen to purchase land legally and received a land grant for Rancho del Arroyo Chico in 1844. But in 1846, the Mexican-American War broke out in Texas and quickly spread across the Southwest. Bidwell joined the California militia and served under John C. Frémont. When the war ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Bidwell was honored with the title General.

After the war, Bidwell focused on agriculture, developing vineyards and orchards on his land. He created his own almond variety and was one of the first to harvest a commercial raisin crop in California. By the 1850s, he owned 30,000 acres and grew everything from wheat to melons.

In 1865, Bidwell was elected to the United States House of Representatives—an achievement that would change the course of his life.

Annie Kennedy was 26, considered past the usual age of marriage. Small and delicate in build, she devoted herself to good works, especially women's suffrage, temperance, public education, and other reform causes. Her father, the superintendent of the U.S. census, held many social responsibilities that Annie and her mother helped manage. Marriage, she believed, would require her to give up her mission.

General Bidwell became a frequent guest at the Kennedy home during his time in Washington, but Annie was shocked to receive a letter from him in January 1867.

image by ronstik, deposit photos

“I never could marry unless I loved,” he wrote, “and I never loved till I came here, and then with an intensity that seemed to me to equal if not surpass any tale of fiction.”

Startled, Annie dashed off a quick and rather stern refusal. But later that day, her conscience pricked her. She sent another note, softer in tone:

“Do not think me ungrateful if obliged to write that which may grieve you. Be assured I am deeply grieved myself. Grieved that I should be the cause of pain to you.”

Though heartbroken, the General thought he sensed not rejection, but fear. Not fear of him, but of change.

“I will try to see you often while I stay in Washington,” he replied. “But Annie, unless you tell me your heart and hand are betrothed to another, I shall live in hope as long as life shall last.”

Bidwell was on a deadline—he would return to California in March. Annie forbade him to approach her parents with a formal courtship. He sent more letters, but she remained firm. He returned to California heartbroken, yet undeterred.

Over the following year, they continued their correspondence across the miles. Though letters took weeks to arrive, their unusual courtship endured. At last, Annie gave the General permission to speak to her father. They were married on April 16, 1868.

Annie need not have feared sacrificing her life's work. Instead, she gained a partner who shared her values. Bidwell ran for president in 1892 as the candidate for the Prohibition Party. While the land he farmed originally belonged to the Mechoopda people, Bidwell—unlike many of his contemporaries—hired many of them and sought to protect them when the state of California later forced Native communities onto reservations. He also spoke publicly for the rights of Chinese immigrants, advocating for their fair treatment.

image by phb.cz, deposit photos

While General Bidwell took up many of Annie’s causes, she shared in his as well—becoming an amateur botanist.

General Bidwell died in 1900 at the age of 81. Annie lived until 1918. She never remarried.

The Bidwells had no children, so Annie left the land near Chico to the town her husband had founded. That land is now known as Bidwell Park. Her mansion served for a time as dormitories for a normal school, continuing her belief in public education. The home was acquired by the State of California in 1964. Sadly, on December 11, 2024, an arson fire destroyed the mansion.

Best-selling author Martha Hutchens is a history nerd who loves discovering new places and times to explore. She won the 2019 Golden Heart® for Romance with Religious and Spiritual Elements. A former analytical chemist and retired homeschool mom, Martha occasionally finds time for knitting—when writing projects allow. Her debut novel, A Steadfast Heart, is now available.

When his family legacy is on the line, rancher Drew McGraw becomes desperate for someone to tame and tutor his three children. Desperate enough to seek a mail-order bride. But when the wrong woman arrives on his doorstep, Drew balks.

Heiress Kaitlyn Montgomery runs straight from the scandal chasing her toward a fresh start on a secluded ranch. She strikes a bargain with Drew—a marriage convenient for both of them.

But the more Kaitlyn adapts to ranch life and forms a bond with Drew’s children and their enigmatic father, she realizes that this ranch is where she is meant to be. And then her past catches up with her…

Will The Real Independence Day Please Stand Up?

Happy Birthday to the United States of America!

 

America’s birthday is generally accepted to be July 4. Independence Day. A day filled with  hot dogs, fireworks, and flags. The day our founding fathers banded together to declare independence from Great Britain, marking the end of colonial rule and the birth of a new nation.

And it is. Sort of.

While most people are familiar with the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted on July 4, 1776 (hence the aforementioned Independence Day celebration), many more are LESS familiar with the original resolution, written on June 7 by Richard Henry Lee, a statesman from Virginia. In it, Lee stated “that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and Independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”

This original resolution was adopted by Congress on July 2, essentially declaring for the first time the creation of a new and independent nation. It was this day that was commemorated by our founding fathers, not July 4. In fact, John Adams wrote to his wife that July 2 would be remembered and celebrated as “the most memorable Epocha in the History of America.”

It was Lee’s resolution that began the movement toward independence. The founding fathers believed the new nation needed three things in order to begin: a Declaration of Independence, alliances with foreign states, and a plan for the confederation. Jefferson, as you may have guessed, was called to handle the first step; it was only because of Lee’s original resolution that the actual Declaration of Independence was drafted.

Photo Credit: Library of Congress

And, as we all know, it was this draft that was adopted on July 4, 1776, ultimately overshadowing Lee’s and giving rise to the Independence Day we all celebrate today. But, interestingly enough, Jefferson’s draft also created a conundrum in the new country.

Jefferson’s document contained the first use of the words “the United States of America,” though he also included language from Lee’s original text, referring to the new nation as “these United Colonies” in his closing paragraph.

Thus, for several months, the newly formed nation suffered a bit of an identity crisis, with some referring to it as “The United States of America” with others referring to it as “The United Colonies of America.”  For example, Congress itself used the term “United Colonies” when it appointed George Washington as commander in chief of the newly formed United Colonies armed forces. The abbreviation “USA,” however, was stamped on official gunpowder canisters by government inspectors to verify that the powder met government standards.

It wasn’t until the convening of the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia on September 9, 1776, that the issue was resolved once and for all. On this day, a resolution was approved and ratified, asserting “that in all continental commissions, and other instruments, where, heretofore, the words ‘United Colonies’ have been used, the stile be altered for the future to the ‘United States.'”

The United States of America was officially born.

Jennifer L. Wright grew up wanting to be a reporter, but it only took a few short months of working in journalism for her to abandon those aspirations for fiction writing instead. She loves to reimagine and explore forgotten eras in history, showcasing God's light amidst humanity's darkest days. Her books have won multiple awards, including Golden Scroll and Angel awards. She currently lives in New Mexico with her husband, two kids, a couple of hyperactive dachshunds, and an ever-growing herd of guinea pigs. 

 

Britain's Requisitioned Homes: Blenheim Palace

During World War II, the British government turned to the peerage and other wealthy individuals for the use of thousands of country manors and stately homes for a myriad of purposes from troop billets and hospitals to command centers and code-breaking facilities (think Bletchley Park). When word got out that these buildings were needed, a host of individuals and families rushed to offer their houses in the hopes of having a say on how it would be used. Barracks were the least desired, and it’s no wonder considering how much damage was done by the hordes of soldiers.

During Operation Pied Piper when children, the elderly, and pregnant women were evacuated from London, authorities realized arrangements were needed for schools. Blenheim Palace (formerly Blenheim Castle), the family ancestral home of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cousin, was one of the many properties converted to a school.

Originally intended as a gift to John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, after his victories over 

France and Spain in the War of the Spanish Succession that culminated in the Battle of Blenheim, the home was constructed between 1702 and 1722. Unfortunately, political infighting sent the Duke and Duchess into exile for three years until after Queen Anne’s death in 1714. John and his wife found themselves back in favor with the Crown but were stuck footing the bill on the construction project.

During World War I, Blenheim was used as a 50-bed military hospital under the ninth Duke of Marlborough who’d married Consuelo Vanderbilt for an infusion of money into his nearly bankrupt dukedom. They would divorce in 1920, and he married a second American heiress, Gladys Deacon.

The property passed to the tenth duke in 1934, who at the onset of WWII, contacted Malvern College (a day and boarding public school), whose premises had been requisitioned by the Admiralty. The state rooms and Long Library became dormitories, and the Great Hall was converted to the dining room. The laundry became the laboratory and the stables the gym. Classes were held in bedrooms converted for such use as well as temporary wooden huts on the grounds.

In an interview with Country Life, Christopher Hussey, one of Britain’s foremost architecture writers, said “The accommodations of four hundred boys and a hundred staff of various degrees and duties taxed even Blenheim’s capacity and certainly had not been visualized by Blenheim’s architect.”

A few of the tasks to prepare the property included protecting the treasures in the state rooms that couldn’t be moved into storage, curtains covered with canvas, mahogany doors padded with felt, installing new boilers and bringing in additional cooking apparatus.

The school only remained at Blenheim for a year. By the time fall 1940 rolled around, the school and all its possessions had merged with Harrow outside of London. Shortly thereafter, MI5 moved in. In addition, the Women’s Land Army remained for the duration and transformed the palace’s 2,000 acres into agricultural land.

___________________________

Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily-ever-after historical Christian fiction about second chances

and women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII and a former trustee for her local public library. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she explores the history of this great state and immerses herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.

About A Lesson in Love

He thinks he’s too old. She thinks she’s too young. Can these teachers learn that love defies all boundaries?

Born and raised in London, Isobel Turvine knows nothing about farming, but after most of the students in her school evacuate during Operation Pied Piper, she’s left with little to do. Then her friend Margery talks her into joining the Women’s Land Army, and she finds herself working the land at a manor home in Yorkshire that’s been converted to a boys’ school. A teacher at heart, she is drawn to the lads, but the handsome yet stiff-necked headmaster wants her to stick to farming.

Left with an arm that barely works from the last “war to end all wars,” Gavin Emerson agrees to take on the job of headmaster when his school moves from London to Yorkshire, but he’s saddled with the quirky manor owner, bickering among his teachers, and a gaggle of Land Army girls who have turned the grounds into a farm. When the group’s blue-eyed, blonde-haired leader nearly runs him down in a car, he admonishes her to stay in the fields, but they are thrown together at every turn. Can he trust her not to break his heart?

Pre-order Link: https://amzn.to/3YHgUb0

Photo credits:

Blenheim Palace: Pixabay/Jenny Bowden

By Possibly Michael Dahl - https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=2000-06-146-1 - National Army Museum, London, Public Domain

Interior: English Heritage/National Monuments Records

WWII Smit-van der Heijden Escape Line: Part Four - A Network is Exposed; Tom Applewhite's Narrow Escape

By Mary Dodge Allen

Tom Applewhite, a U.S. Army Air Corps bombardier was picked up by the escape line after his B-17 bomber, “The Wild Hare” crashed in a Dutch field on November 11, 1943.

Tom Applewhite, U.S. Army Air Corps, circa 1942 (Public Domain)

This blog is the conclusion of a Four-Part series on the Dutch – Belgian Resistance. Part One, Part Two and Part Three describe how the Smit-van der Heijden Escape line was established, its network of contacts, and airman Tom Applewhite’s journey to the escape line’s safe house in Brussels. To read the previous blogs, click here: Part One.  Part Two   Part Three

The Day Before The Arrests:

On the afternoon of November 14th, Tom left the Smit-van der Heijden escape line safe house, guided by Ernest van Moorleghem, a Brussels police official. Ernest was deeply involved in the Resistance and often served as a contact between escape lines. He guided Tom to a fishmarket in the Brussels district of Schaerbeek. 

Fishmarket operator, Prosper Spilliaert (Far Left); and next to him, his wife, Yvonne de Rudder; 

(Far Right) his stepson, Rene Warny; with friends and unidentified Allied airman. (Public Domain)

This fishmarket, run by Prosper Spilliaert, served as a clearinghouse, operated by a separate Resistance group called Service EVA. Its members specialized in interrogating airmen to make sure they weren’t German agents. Then the airmen were passed on to safe houses and given new clothes and false ID papers. Service EVA guides had connections with the Comet Line, which would move the Allied airmen through France and Spain.

Spilliaert’s stepson, Rene Warny took Tom into a room where they photographed airmen to create false IDs. He pointed out bullet holes in the wall. Days earlier, they had uncovered two German agents posing as Allied airmen, and Spilliaert shot them on the spot.

Disaster Strikes! Betrayal and Arrests:

On November 15th - the day after Tom Applewhite reached the Brussels fishmarket - Tom’s crewmate, Nello Malavasi, top turret gunner/engineer for their B-17 named “The Wild Hare,” was arrested in Turnhout, Belgium, along with Willem Schmidt, a guide with the Smit-van der Heijden line.  

American Airman Nello Malavasi, on Left; Guide Willem Schmidt, on Right (Public Domain)

How this happened remains unclear, perhaps their appearance or nervous behavior alerted German officials. After the arrest, Willem Schmidt underwent harsh interrogation and, under duress, agreed to cooperate. He arranged for Charlotte Ambach to meet him at the Brussels train station, so she could guide Malavasi to the safe house (her Brussels apartment).  

When Charlotte approached them at the train station, she was arrested. The man standing with Willem Schmidt, (posing as Nello Malavasi) was a member of the German military police. In a matter of hours, many others involved in the escape line were arrested, including: Charlotte’s mother, Elise Chabot; and Ernest van Moorleghem. 

From Left: Elise Chabot, Charlotte Ambach and Ernest van Moorleghem (Public Domain)

From Left: Karst Smit, in uniform; Ernest van der Heijden (Public Domain)

The two Dutch men who established and ran the Smit-van der Heijden Escape Line - Karst Smit, a Dutch border patrol officer, and Eugene van der Heijden, a Dutch teacher - were tipped off about the arrests in Brussels. They both went into hiding.

The Tragic Outcome:

Willem Schmidt and Ernest van Moorleghem were executed.

Charlotte and her mother Elise were imprisoned in Germany, but on May 6, 1945, the prison was liberated by Allied soldiers, only days before their scheduled execution on May 22nd. 

(Charlotte and Ernest van Moorleghem had been madly in love. She never married, and during her long life, she kept a photo of Ernest on a table in her living room.)

Karst Smit was eventually arrested and sent to a series of concentration camps. He survived.

Eugene van der Heijden escaped capture, but his father and two of his three brothers (who operated a safe house) died in concentration camps. Eugene helped his mother carry on, despite the heavy burden of their deaths.

Tom Applewhite in Danger:

Members of Service EVA were alarmed by the number of arrests and feared the fishmarket might be next. On November 16th, Tom Applewhite was moved to the home of businessman Arthur Schrynemakers, where he stayed for a month. While there, Tom met a Jewish family also hiding there.

Nurse Yvonne Bienfait (Public Domain)

On December 19th, Tom was moved to another safe house, the Brussels apartment of nurse Yvonne Bienfait. Because of the recent arrests, she became suspicious Tom was a German agent when she saw him using a German-made razor (a gift from Arthur Schrynemakers). 

Two men with Service EVA arrived to give Tom a "medical" exam, which included examining his teeth. (Tom didn’t realize he was in danger of being killed.) These men marked the patterns of Tom's dental fillings, so they could radio them to London. Allied officials confirmed Tom’s identity as an American airman. 

False ID photo of Jockey Wiggins (Public Domain)

While at nurse Bienfait’s apartment, Tom met American airman, Jockey Wiggins, whose foot was injured when he bailed out of his B-17. Yvonne Bienfait had been taking care of his wound. These two airmen would travel together from now on. 

On December 23rd, a Service EVA guide took the men to the Brussels train station and placed them in the hands of a Comet Line guide. He traveled with them to Blandain, the last Belgian train stop before the French border. 

In Blandain, they were met by the daughter of local physician. She brought them to the family home, where they met their next guide, code named, “Diane.” The men were served dinner, including a cake decorated with Allied flags. Then they waited at the house until they got a signal from a customs officer that the French border was clear of German patrols. 

Amanda Stassart, Comet Line guide, code named: "Diane" (Public Domain)

Crossing Into France:

In the darkness, “Diane” guided Tom and Jockey through snowy fields across the border into France. They walked to the farmhouse of Andre Dewauvrin, mayor of the village, Camphin-en-Pevele. After eating a hot meal, they spent the night in his dairy barn.

Farmhouse of Andre Dewauvrin (recent photo by Bruce Bolinger)

The next day, “Diane” guided them onto a tram going to the city of Lille. A young woman on the tram asked the two airmen to light her cigarette. They couldn’t speak French, so they ignored her, which drew attention and placed them in danger. “Diane” quickly created a distraction, screaming that the woman must be a ‘whore’ trying to pick up her “brother” and “fiancé.” The woman got off at the next stop.

From Lille, “Diane” traveled with Tom and Jockey by train to Paris, and handed them to other guides who took them to the apartment of a kind, aristocratic woman, Madame Elizabeth Buffet, where they spent Christmas. 

From Left: Sgt. Stanley Munns, RAF tail gunner; Elton Kevil, U.S. Army Air Corps B-17 waist gunner

False ID photos (Public Domain)

The following day, new guides, working with French railway staff, smuggled them and two additional Allied airmen – Stanley Munns and Elton Kevil - aboard a train to Bayonne, a city near the Spanish border. They were told to pretend to be asleep during the entire overnight trip, to discourage others from initiating a conversation. 

On December 27th, as soon as they reached Bayonne, the four airmen were immediately shuttled onto another train headed north, to the town of Dax. (Earlier that night, German patrols had discovered two people trying to cross into Spain, and they had dumped their dead bodies in the Bayonne town square.) 

Jean-Francois Nothomb, Comet Line guide, code named: "Franco" (Public Domain)

A Comet Line guide, “Franco” met them in Dax. He and another guide provided bicycles and they all cycled 45 miles to the Café Larre, in Anglet, a small town near Bayonne. Here they met Pierre and Marie Elhorga, Comet Line associates of “Franco.” 

From Left:  Cafe Larre in Anglet; Pierre and Marie Elhorga (Public Domain)

After a hot meal, they spent the night in the second floor bedrooms. This café was popular with German soldiers, and sleep was difficult, listening to the enemy soldiers carousing, one floor below. 

At dusk on December 28th the four airmen cycled behind “Franco” to the River Nive and then crossed it after dark in a rowboat. On the other side, they picked up new bicycles, and “Franco” guided them to a rendezvous with four Basque guides.

Crossing Into Spain:

These guides walked with them to a barn near the Spanish border. Here they received espadrilles (jute-soled shoes that deaden the sound of footsteps) and sturdy hiking staffs. The night was cold, and a mixture of snow and rain fell. They were careful to avoid German patrols as they headed toward the border. They crossed into Spain near Marker 74.   

French-Spanish Border Marker 74 (recent photo by Bruce Bolinger)

Crossing the Pyrenees mountains in the cold, wet weather was an ordeal for all of them. Climbing was steep and slippery. Their shoes and clothes were wet, and their freezing feet were bleeding. Jockey Wiggins struggled to walk when the wound on his foot reopened. Stan Munns fell and nearly broke his leg, Tom helped to support his weight as they walked on.  

The western Pyrenees in winter (Public Domain)

They were in constant danger of being discovered by Spain’s Guardia Civil. Although Spain was nominally a neutral country, its fascist government was pro-Nazi. Captured airmen could be turned over to the Germans or placed in Spanish prisons. 

On December 31, 1943, they reached the Baztan Valley, where a car was waiting. The four airmen were driven to a pub in San Sebastian, run by a British couple. After a hot meal, a warm bath and fresh clothing, another car drove them to the British embassy in Madrid. The men were so exhausted, they slept most of the way.

After a week of rest at the embassy, the four airmen were transported separately to the port of Seville – one in an ambulance, another in a diplomatic car, but Tom unfortunately traveled in the back of a flatbed truck with several drunken sailors. 

Einar Apeland, Captain of Norwegian merchant ship, "Lisbeth" 

(photo courtesy of Alf Einar Apeland)

On January 7, 1944, Tom Applewhite, Jockey Wiggins, Elton Kevil, Stan Munns and another airman, John Hurst, boarded the Norwegian merchant ship, “Lisbeth,” bound for the British outpost at Gibraltar. They faced danger from undersea mines and traveled with no lights at night, so they wouldn’t be spotted by German subs. 

On January 11th the “Lisbeth” finally reached Gibraltar. Days later, Tom and the other airmen were flown back to England. 

After the War:

Tom Applewhite, editor of the 1946 Memphis State College yearbook

(photo courtesy of University of Memphis)

Tom Applewhite finished his education at Memphis State College (later, the University of Memphis). He got married, had children and worked in business as a sales manager. He passed away in January 2007.

Undated photo of Tom, his wife Lorraine and their daughter (courtesy, Tom Applewhite)

Author's note: While writing this blog series, I've felt a deep admiration for all the ordinary people who risked their lives to help others during the harsh and dangerous conditions of Nazi occupation. They generously provided shelter and food to those in need (at a time of food shortages and strict rationing). And they bravely faced danger every day, as they saved persecuted Jews, escaped POWs and Allied airmen from death in concentration camps or prison camps.

Sources: I am grateful to Bruce Bolinger, who compiled and published an online treasure trove of information about the Dutch-Belgian Resistance during WWII. For more information, you can click on these links:  

https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/airmen-helped/articles-about-the-line/dutch-and-belgian-heroism-part-one/

https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/airmen-helped/articles-about-the-line/dutch-and-belgian-heroism-part-ii/

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Mary Dodge Allen is currently finishing her sequel to Hunt for a Hometown Killer. She's won a Christian Indie Award, an Angel Book Award, and two Royal Palm Literary Awards (Florida Writer's Association). She and her husband live in Central Florida. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Faith Hope and Love Christian Writers. 

Website: www.marydodgeallen.com

Recent release, anthology devotional: El Jireh, The God Who Provides

Mary's story, entitled: A Mother's Desperate Prayer, describes her struggle with guilt and despair after her young son is badly burned in a kitchen accident. When we are at the end of all we have, El Jireh provides what we need. 

Click the link below to purchase on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/El-Jireh-God-Who-Provides/dp/1963611608

Mary's novel: Hunt for a Hometown Killer won the 2022 Christian Indie Award, First Place - Mystery/Suspense; and the 2022 Angel Book Award - Mystery/Suspense.

Click the link below to buy Hunt for a Hometown Killer at Amazon.com:

Hunt For A Hometown Killer: A Novel: Allen, Mary Dodge: 9781952369704: Amazon.com: Books

Link to Mary's Spotlight Interview:   Mary Dodge Allen Author Spotlight EA Books