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First broadcast 10th March 1985.

Is Flo's long dead husband still alive? Flo's thinks she has just seen him, but he was supposed to have perished in a submarine accident, forty years ago.

Ken Sharrock - Skipper
Fraser Downie - Engineer
Peter Tilbury - Malcolm Proby
Jill Gascoine - Maggie Forbes
Rosalyn Landor - Pru Standfast
Julia McCarthy - Slo Hawkins
Leslie Ash - Fred Smith
Sally Mates - Ward Sister
Linda Regan - Naval Computer Operator
Don Warrington - Nigel Beaumont
Peter Jones - Nigel Hawkins
George A. Cooper - Amos Fraser
Phyllida Hewat - Lady Cranshaw
Graham Crowden - Admiral Cranshaw
Hugh Lloyd - Charlie Hawkins

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Transcript
01:30Over your bed, probably.
01:36Snap.
01:48Snagged on something.
01:49It's clear now.
01:50Wouldn't have thought there was much to snag down there.
01:52Just medway slime.
01:54Come on.
01:55Let's get the hell out of here.
02:07Oh, my God.
02:50Pru, it's Maggie. Are you reading me? Over.
02:54Really, Maggie, must you use that appalling jargon? How can I possibly be reading you, especially at this distance? Over.
02:59I hope you thought this thing through. If that charge you broke when he does have a marriage contract with
03:05the girl, he could sue us for a sort. Over.
03:08She's 15, for heaven's sake. Even if her mother has signed a contract, it can't possibly be valid in this
03:13country. Over.
03:14I still say we should leave it to the police. Over.
03:19I told you they don't want to know. Over.
03:23Pru, if the girl is underage and the contract is invalid, then the police are bound to act. Over.
03:32Not until an offence has been committed. By the time they get their act together, the girl could be back
03:37in India. Over.
03:38Okay. But I want to register the strongest possible objection.
03:43Hello, miss. You're just a person I wanted to see.
03:45Not now, Flo.
03:47Go away. There's a good girl.
03:48I've seen him again. My old man. On the Maidstone Road.
03:52Flo, we're right in the middle of something here.
03:53He was driving a great big white Jaguar. Large his life, he was. I mean, dead these 40 years, and
04:02suddenly he's driving a great big motor.
04:04Can we please go away, Scarborough? Hop it now.
04:06You've got to find him for me, miss. You've got to find him.
04:09On our way out, girls. Start up and stay close for Gort's sake. I don't fancy ending up as a
04:14bowl of curry.
04:15Over.
04:20Here they come. Black Merva, High Street End.
04:23Going like that. Go! Go!
04:29Come on, please. Come on!
04:31Let's go on, sir.
04:40Come on.
04:42Come on, sir.
04:46Come on.
05:02about 150 quids worth of damage I reckon and there's Maggie's car God have you
05:08seen it seen it I was in it remember it's a shambles an absolute shambles Maggie where did the old
05:18duck
05:18come from for God's sake I don't know she came from out of nowhere God I nearly killed her she's
05:23been
05:23onto your feet for yonks what the hell does she want she wants to find her old man well she
05:29claims
05:29she's seen him more than once driving a big white jag along the Maidstone Road she's been going on
05:34about it for years evidently oh is it possible could you have seen him no well why not maybe
05:42the old geezer won the polls or something I mean likely the old geezer's been dead for 40 years
05:47dead look I didn't make some inquiries when Flo first came in ages ago I didn't just ignore the
05:55old girl all right so if he's dead he's dead his name was Charlie Hawkins
06:05Abel Seaman Charles Leslie Hawkins Chatham Division Royal Navy he served on submarines during the war
06:12lost in action towards the end of it went down with his majesty's submarine Toreador Mid-Atlantic
06:17there were no survivors and you can't convince her
06:22evidently not she gets passed around the place from pillar to post from the police to social security
06:28from social security to welfare from welfare to the church from the church back to the police
06:32again and finally somebody mentioned us trying to get rid of her probably she's my conscience
06:38case though now isn't she
07:00you found him yet
07:04no not yet you looking yes Maidstone Road or thereabout don't build your hopes up no
07:14it isn't likely to be Charlie well it isn't is it he can't come back not after 40 years
07:23I've seen him miss I'll tell you I've seen him
07:45dotty old flow well I suppose every town of any size has one
07:49that's color to the place sort of dilapidated eccentrics they sometimes get swept up you know
07:56along with the waste paper the fish burns in the gutter the dog muck the drunken sailors and the whores
08:01usually when they're about to elect a new mayor
08:04they've somehow dropped through the welfare sieve latter day floods
08:09I'm sorry Mr Proby but I don't find Flo's situation particularly funny
08:14I think he's rather sad
08:15the stuff of tragic farce you know she was a war widow or farcical tragedy no I didn't
08:22her husband was in the navy he went down with his submarine the toreador mid-atlantic 1945
08:28now in my book that puts her a cut above waste paper fish bones dog muck and whores
08:33at the moment she thinks she's going out of her mind
08:36because she keeps thinking she sees her husband driving a big white jag
08:40she needs help I doubt very much if she'll find it here sorry I bothered you Mr Proby
08:47now hold on Miss Forbes
08:48Mrs. Mrs. Forbes wait please
08:50I don't think you have anything for me Mr. Proby
08:53what a bet
08:55come back please I have something to show you
08:57I think we're both wasting time
08:58come on please
08:59come on please
09:38a few days ago this was found on the mudflats at Sheerness. they'd be washed
09:43up by the tide. someone brought it to us for identification.
09:48all right I'll buy it. what is it? well we didn't have a clue at first till we
09:51chipped away all those barnacles and washed the thing clean. finally it looked
09:56like this. do you know what it is? some sort of marker boy? right a marker boy. to be
10:03more precise a World War two distress marker boy submarine for the use of.
10:09now that number on it is the identifying pendant number of the vessel which it
10:13belonged to P318. well we found up the Admiralty to find out what vessel had
10:18pendant number P318 during the war. they told us. what is this gonna do with flow?
10:25well because as soon as they told us they obviously wish they hadn't. within two
10:29hours of my phone call we have a pompous little Admiralty twit down here on the
10:33doorstep. he's got a special court order thing which gives him the right to
10:38confiscate the marker boy so he says. it's naval property after 40 years. he goes
10:44on to deny that the boy ever belonged to the vessel they just told us it belonged
10:48to and then suggested that we shelve the story. if there was one. shelve it. bury it.
10:54forget it. so? you don't say that to a journalist Maggie. it's all right if I
11:01call you Maggie. I'm Malcolm incidentally. I mean it's an invitation to Burrow. I got
11:07an old copy of Jane's fighting ships for 1945 which is the best reference there is
11:13and checked. and sure enough there it was pendant number P318. his majesty's
11:20submarine Toreador. what? just like they said the first time. the Toreador. but that's
11:28impossible. it's at the bottom of the Atlantic. has been for 40 years.
11:33so I ran a teaser paragraph Maggie. just a short middle page piece. a couple of
11:41hundred words no more. has anyone seen the Toreador Ole? is there a sunken submarine
11:49lying under the medway mud? that sort of thing. wait a minute you're going too fast for me.
11:53yes well I was certainly going too fast for someone because my boss called me in and told
11:59me to kill the story and forget about any follow-up. that paragraph was all the world
12:05was going to read about the Marker boy. all the Toreador. it's incredible oh that's
12:12not the end Maggie. not the clincher. not by a long chunk. now we've got a real sweet
12:18closeout on this one. closeout? well there's a closeout. a real doozy. listen to this Maggie.
12:25the day after the paper comes out with my piece in it I'm driving along minding my own business
12:31when I'm slammed into a ditch. slammed quite deliberately Maggie by a big white jaguar.
12:40there must be some perfectly simple logical explanation. I hate it when the long arm of
12:46coincidence stretches in from nowhere. and grabs me whilst I'm getting ready for a
12:50dirty weekend. yes sir. I appreciate that very much. thank you. anything? well the
12:58harbour master says the tide was still on the ebb when the Marker boy was found.
13:02that means it could have been carried to the mudflats from inside the mouth of
13:05the medway. maybe even as far down as Chatham. only maybe? well if the boy had been
13:09there for some time then he could have been brought in on a high tide from the sea.
13:12I doubt very much if he came in from mid-atlantic. bingo. we've got a line. now let's see if
13:22we can go for a full house.
13:24clear into an admiral jay confusion. how the hell did you manage that? with difficulty.
13:28code 4. key in A16. line 4. royal navy. war losses at sea. 1939 to 45. detail 218 to 9000.
13:39stroke A32C.
13:42A16. return.
13:50vessel's name and designation. h.m. submarine toreador. t-class patrol truck.
14:00d-o-r. e-a-d-o-r. sometimes i can hardly credit you have the equivalent of a
14:08master's in computer science.
14:21we have a telephonic break-in. i'm starting a trace and search routine sir.
14:26h.m. submarine toreador. pendant number p-318. presumed sunk mid-atlantic april the 20th 1945.
14:34presumed? why only presumed? whilst on routine war patrol duties. do you radio silence?
14:40the exact location of sinking remains unknown. that's odd. oh i don't think so. if the sub hadn't
14:47reported in for a while then it would. no no no. look there item three. all further information remains
14:52strictly classified. they've even given it an s224 coding. what does that mean? nun's knickers. red.
14:59never to be revealed. not even after 40 years. not even after 400 years.
15:09sensitive material.
15:14well. close old man is down there. abel seaman hawkins. charles leslie. and 39 of his shipmates.
15:24don't work. yes i understand your concern command.
15:31no i did not authorize any telephonic break into your computer and i really don't know why my
15:36girls want access to your data.
15:41it might have been an accident. wrong number it happens sometimes doesn't it?
15:45i'm convinced the third world war will start with the wrong number being dialed on a red telephone.
15:55yes commander. i'll check it out for you.
16:00bye.
16:05well. just exactly what you girls are up to then.
16:10okay maggie okay let's take one thing at a time. the marker boy. how did it get on the mudflats
16:16at
16:16sheerness? it's a broken frame. from where and how? well from where i don't know. how? maybe somebody was
16:23playing games. maybe somebody released it. maybe somebody wanted it found. that's too complicated. too
16:31fanciful. what then? something released it more like. maybe they're dredging out there in the medway.
16:39buy your drink maggie. i have to go to the hospital. see flow.
16:44do we know if the toreador actually sailed from here?
16:47i've always assumed it did. strange.
16:49what? it didn't say so on the printout. come to think of it it didn't say very much at all.
16:57this came up with a lot of fairly useless information. it looked comprehensive. it looked
17:02detailed. but it wasn't. when you come to analyze it almost it would have been i don't know been edited.
17:10it. yeah it is. you're right you know maggie we could have got most of that computer stuff from
17:27any decent reference book on the second world war. then why classified? why the secrecy? and why is the
17:33admiralty so goddamn sensitive about it? mine is the back of my neckage. oh sometimes it's the
17:40bolts of my ears. sometimes the palms of my hands. today it's the back of my neck.
17:46copper's instinct. never wise to ignore it. yep. thought so. what are you talking about? we've got a
17:53tail. a nice white one. jackie or saroon. are you sure? don't turn around. it's the madman. i mean he
18:00was out to kill me. i'll put your foot down man. you let's get rid of him. well on your
18:03life mate.
18:04let's make it easy for him. i know it's behind that wheel. i know you don't want all that defensive
18:10driving stuff. but he's a nutter. i mean the way he went for me. give me his number. i need
18:15to get a
18:15good look at him. you could pull the car over. oh christ. oh damn i've lost him. he's chickened out.
18:24what else it just wasn't our man. oh it was our man all right. the back of my neck is
18:30sold and raw.
18:57oh
18:58looking devil wasn't he right old rogue though too man it was taken 1944 we'd been married five years
19:11spent all that time as a submariner he did mostly on the toreador and once he got on that i
19:17never
19:17got to see much of him always at sea right old rogue you said what does that mean rogue tear
19:25away proper scoundrel sometimes trust him to go swarling about in a great big white check
19:34might you wouldn't surprise me if it'd been a roller likes a bit of luxury does my charlie can i
19:40borrow
19:40this photo you let me have it back after after after you found him of course you've seen him
19:48might you i don't know that was all rugs the old bleating crew well they had to be only way
19:57to
19:57stop them going barbie always right in the thick of at the toreador every rotten job god knows how many
20:06of the enemy they sent down to david jones's look they always gave more than they got and the bleeding
20:13heroes but rogues every one of them here you never brought me nothing this visit kike well that's a nice
20:24bit of fruit kite you know yes i think you've seen him that's what i think
20:35so it is you who's incurred the wrath of the admiralty is it margaret still anyone who manages
20:41to upset our pompous naval hierarchy can't be all bad can they now perhaps you care to put me in
20:49the
20:49picture
20:51see you there brett right sure you know the way i invented it see ya get lost
20:57get lost
20:58get lost
20:59get lost
20:59get lost
21:00get lost
21:02get lost
21:03get lost
21:05get lost
21:17get lost
21:17is that it then
21:19is that all
21:21has it occurred to you that most of your information has been furnished by this man probie
21:26he's given you the lot hasn't he
21:28let's assume for one moment that these pictures of the marker boy are
21:33fakes
21:34what new complexion does that put on things
21:39newspaper offices have photo labs you know
21:42journalists sometimes go to extraordinary lengths to fabricate new stories
21:46no way
21:46there's something very fishy here
21:49very fishy indeed
21:50the thing is margaret you're very much a police person at heart aren't you
21:54inclined to make criminal mountains out of perfectly innocent motives
21:59wait
22:00get down
22:13get down
22:14what was it
22:18grenade
22:18why hasn't it gone off
22:20Don't know.
22:56Don't know.
22:58Damn!
23:05Well?
23:08Right, Jack. Didn't get the number.
23:14It seems I owe you an apology, Margaret.
23:17I, too, am beginning to detect a distinct aroma of fish.
23:23Just because of a little old grenade?
24:09I've discovered a real anomaly here.
24:14One.
24:15You appear to have missed.
24:17Oh.
24:18According to this excellent reference work,
24:20the full complement of the submarine Toreador was 53 officers and men.
24:26So?
24:26Yet, according to the Admiralty Memory Bank...
24:29No survivors from a crew of 40.
24:32Bravo.
24:33Why only 40 on board?
24:35A skeleton crew, do you think?
24:37Perhaps the Toreador wasn't on war patrol at all.
24:41Perhaps she was being used for some other purpose.
24:43Such as?
24:44Such as underwater transport, for instance.
24:47Submarines were sometimes used to carry vitally important cargoes.
24:50What do you suppose that's what the Toreador was doing?
24:52It's possible.
24:54I'll make a few inquiries.
24:55I suppose anyone will tell you.
24:56Then we shall just have to find the wreck.
24:59What are you doing?
25:00Darling 999.
25:02There's an unexploded grenade out there.
25:04Good Lord.
25:05I'd forgotten about that.
25:07I wonder why it didn't go off.
25:14Goodbye.
25:25Goodbye.
25:39I don't know.
26:09We're off, middle of the Paris and night.
26:12Flo.
26:12You ain't sticking no more bleeding pins in me, neither.
26:15It's a telephone. There's a call for you. Do you want to take it or not?
26:18Tell you something else, mate.
26:22How? For me?
26:24For you.
26:25Oh, dear, Professor.
26:26Who'd be profaned me?
26:29And that's the exact spot where they anchored whilst they repaired the engines.
26:32Well clear of the main channels.
26:34According to the harbormaster, the tugboat was the only vessel of any size hoved to in the estuary.
26:40And the skipper says the cable definitely snagged on something as they hauled it in.
26:44There's mostly mud down there, so the anchor must have called on something solid.
26:48Like a dead submarine.
26:49Oh, dear.
26:50Yeah. Looks as though someone's going to have to do some diving.
26:53The Navy?
26:54Good Lord, no.
26:56They insist the torridors are at the bottom of the Atlantic.
26:58And we can't involve the police because they maintain no crime's been committed.
27:02No crime?
27:03What about that grenade?
27:05And what about my brakes?
27:07The lines were cut.
27:08That bullet was reeling off during the Matthew Passion tour.
27:11Oh, it is a police matter.
27:14I don't think so.
27:15Not yet.
27:16Well, not until one of us has been killed, you mean?
27:18Not until we look beneath the murky waters of the Medway.
27:21Do you still have a hankering prudence as you missed out on the Lennon star?
27:25Oh, now, wait a minute.
27:26No, no, we can't afford to wait.
27:28Margaret, aha, seems to have disturbed some 40-year-old sleeping dogs with a particularly vicious bite.
27:34They have to be identified.
27:36But even if I find the sub, it won't prove anything.
27:38It'll prove it didn't sink in the Atlantic.
27:40And while you're looking for it, Frederica can break back into the Admiralty computer.
27:44I want to take a look at the main war archives for mid-April 1945.
27:50Let's try and get to the bottom of this mystery.
27:53Is it Flo?
27:54Is she all right?
27:57Oh, God.
27:58Stop her, will you?
27:59Just hold her.
28:00I'm on my way.
28:01What's the murder making?
28:03Hospital.
28:04Oh, Flo's had a phone call from someone.
28:06Someone who said he was her husband said he was coming to take her home.
28:09So she's discharging herself.
28:12What's the murder making?
28:13Is that an early warствен?
28:13Oh, Flo's had a waiting.
28:13Oh, the murder makes that.
28:17Oh, dear.
28:17And the other one is going to be, it's grave.
28:18Oh, dear.
28:19Oh, dear.
28:34Oh, dear.
28:38Oh, dear.
28:50Help me.
29:10Help me.
29:42Help me.
30:10Help me.
30:20S224Q8.
30:21Access code to a subroutine.
30:23Difficult, eh?
30:24Difficult, but not impossible.
30:26Well, whatever you get, put it on a security file and make sure Margaret sees it when she comes in.
30:31She was picked up in a white jag.
30:34Yes, a white jag.
30:37Well, of course I followed it, but I lost it somewhere here on the Maidstone Road.
30:41Yes, just disappeared.
30:42All right, Maggie. All right.
30:44We'll do search of the area if necessary.
30:46Yeah, I've got stringers around the place.
30:48We'll find it.
30:50Listen, get yourself back here, will you?
30:51I've got another lead.
30:53Overflow's maiden name was Fraser, and I've located a cousin of hers, a Navy pensioner called Amos, would you believe.
31:00He's ex-Nable Police, ex-Dockyard Copper.
31:04Mine of information.
31:05Where does he live?
31:08Fairhaven.
31:10Rest home.
31:12Arnslow Road, Gillingham.
31:14Okay, see you then.
31:22Of course, you should have seen the place in them days.
31:25Oh, big naval town, Chettern was.
31:28Yeah, one of the port divisions.
31:31Massive dockyard, river full of warships, town full of life.
31:35Charlie Hawkins town.
31:37Oh, yes.
31:38Charlie was born and bred.
31:39He loved the place, yeah.
31:41Put the Navy through and through.
31:43But like all Matalows, he was a bit of a rover.
31:46Even after he was married.
31:48Oh, he'd have a gadabout.
31:52You know.
31:54But he'd always come back to Chatham.
31:56And Flo.
31:58Oh, poor old Flo.
32:00I'm sorry, broke our heart or you weren't missing.
32:03Oh, it did more than that.
32:05It sent her a bit loony.
32:08Off her trolley.
32:10Well, you've seen her about.
32:13But they were very fond of each other.
32:16Yeah, very fond.
32:20Charlie had a brother, you know.
32:22Tommy Hawkins.
32:23A petty officer telegraphist up at the Admiralty in London.
32:28Now, Charlie was no angel, of course.
32:30But Tommy was a bad lot.
32:32A real bad lot.
32:34What happened to him?
32:35Well, he deserted.
32:37What?
32:38Oh, he scarpered.
32:39The same day as the Toreador was sunk.
32:42Look, I mean, of that, I mean, Tommy had a cushy number up in London at the Radio Communications Centre.
32:49So why would he want to scarper so late in the war?
32:52It was all over, Barter Shouting.
32:55Now, if Charlie had gone over the hill, you could understand.
32:59Well, why is that?
33:00Well, because the Toreador had it tough.
33:03An hard war.
33:04I'd see all the time.
33:06Too much action.
33:08Never had a rest.
33:10A band of bleeding heroes.
33:12And all bomb-happy, there was talk of a mutiny.
33:18Only talk.
33:19But I remember, there was an heavy security blanket out all over the wharf that night she sailed for the
33:25last time.
33:27Naval police all over the place.
33:31The old Toreador slipped away like a thief in the night.
33:37Well, Prudence?
33:38It's there, all right.
33:40We've got four fathoms.
33:42You're sure it's the Toreador?
33:44Positive.
33:47It's lots of silt and mud, but it is the Toreador.
33:51How did it sink?
33:52It looks as though it was deliberately scuttled.
33:55All the seacocks are wide open.
33:56And before you ask, no, we didn't go inside.
33:59That's a job for the Navy.
34:01Okay, Graham, give me those again, will you?
34:03The ones near Bluebell Hill.
34:07Christ!
34:08Incredible, isn't it?
34:10No one said they wanted to tell us.
34:11I appreciate that very much.
34:12No wonder the Admiralty wanted to bury it.
34:14Listen, Maggie, we may have got this down to four possibles.
34:18Forget it, Malcolm.
34:19In that area, there are only four.
34:22What?
34:23I said forget it.
34:25We have to forget it.
34:26What about poor old Flo?
34:28I don't know.
34:30I don't believe it.
34:34They've got you doing it too, haven't they, Maggie?
34:37Shelve it.
34:38Bury it.
34:39Forget it.
34:40You don't say that!
34:42To a journalist, do you?
34:43No!
34:44You damn well don't!
34:48Prune!
34:49If I give them a story, they can't cover it up, can they?
34:52I mean, if the press have got it, the Admiralty can't bury it.
34:55No, but they'll probably end up burying you.
34:57Well, then they'll have to bury all of us.
35:00Nigel included.
35:01Oh, we'll love that.
35:03Hold on, you're going too fast.
35:04No, you hold on, buster.
35:07The going is going to get faster and bumpier.
35:09Can I take notes?
35:11No, Nate.
35:11It's all in here.
35:13Oh, boy.
35:14The Toreador never made it to the Atlantic.
35:16It never even cleared the estuary.
35:17It was scuttled, probably by its own crew,
35:20in the medway in the early hours of April the 17th, 1945.
35:23God's name, why?
35:24Because instead of torpedoes,
35:26it was carrying $10 million worth of gold bullion.
35:32Commander?
35:33Nigel Beaumont.
35:37I've given my girls a wrap on the knuckles,
35:39and I think I can assure you that they won't be naughty again.
35:42But the thing is, they rather aroused my curiosity.
35:45It seems that they're interested in a submarine
35:47that was supposed to have gone down with all hands in 1945,
35:51the Toreador.
35:56Yes, of course, I realized that was before your time.
36:00But I wondered if you'd give me the names of everyone
36:02that was on duty in the communications room
36:05on the night of April 17th.
36:11Oh, come now, Commander.
36:13All I'm asking is a little quid pro quo.
36:16I'm sure you'd like to keep it in the family, wouldn't you?
36:18The Toreador was taking the first token installment
36:21of our lend-lease repayment to the United States.
36:24$10 million in gold.
36:26Enough to tempt a war-weary crew to mutiny.
36:28They hijacked their own summary.
36:30Well, they probably overpowered and killed the officers,
36:32unloaded the gold, opened the seacogs, and sank the Toreador.
36:36But he would have been missed immediately.
36:37No, no, no, no, because the Toreador was under strict instructions
36:41to keep radio silence except for one coded transmission per day.
36:45Which was received by Tommy Hawkins at the communications center.
36:48And he faked it.
36:50There never was a radio signal from the Toreador that day.
36:54So, whoever read your little piece in the local newspaper,
36:57it panicked them.
36:58That's for sure.
37:00And whoever it is, they've got her old flow.
37:02If she's still alive.
37:04Right.
37:05Give us those four locations, Malcolm.
37:08We'll take one each.
37:12Lady Grandshaw?
37:14Yes?
37:15My name's Beaumont.
37:16I'm from the home office.
37:18I'd like to see your husband.
37:19Why?
37:20It's a private matter.
37:22It won't take long, will it?
37:24He hasn't been very well recently.
37:25I'll try and be as brief as possible.
37:32Well, you'd better come in.
37:50Someone to see you, dear.
37:52Hmm?
37:53A Mr. Beaumont from the home office.
37:55What?
37:56Sorry to disturb you, Admiral.
37:58I want to pick your brains.
38:01Call in every five minutes.
38:02If we don't hear from someone during that time,
38:04we send in the cavalry.
38:05All right?
38:06All right.
38:06So, here we are.
38:09This is your place.
38:12Vellum Priory.
38:13Maggie, you take care, eh?
38:15You too.
38:16I don't think it's this place.
38:18Well, maybe it's none of them.
38:20See you later.
38:22The Toreador?
38:23Yes, I remember.
38:25A T-class sub that sank in the Atlantic.
38:28You remember what she was carrying?
38:30Carrying?
38:31Why should she have been carrying anything?
38:33She was on warp trail.
38:34I think not.
38:36Then suppose you tell me what you think she was carrying.
38:40Gold.
38:42Well, it's not beyond the bounds of possibility.
38:45Lend-lease and all that.
38:46Yes.
38:47So?
38:47You were a lieutenant commander at the time.
38:50Working in the London communications room.
38:53Correct.
38:54Did you know a telegraphist named Tommy Hawkins?
38:58I'm sorry, Mr. Beaumont.
39:00It's so long ago.
39:01Why don't you come to the point?
39:03The point is, Admiral.
39:04We now have proof that the Toreador never left the Medway.
39:09We believe the crew mutinied, stole the gold, and disappeared.
39:13And who is we?
39:14That needn't concern you.
39:15But if we are right, they must have had a contact in the communications room.
39:21The telegraphist?
39:22Hawkins.
39:23Probably.
39:24He went absent without leave on the night the Admiralty lost contact with the Toreador.
39:29All right, suppose he was in on it.
39:31I really don't see why we are raking over such old coals.
39:34The coals are still burning.
39:36At least one mutineer is still alive.
39:39You've caught him?
39:40Not yet.
39:41But it's only a matter of time.
39:49What do you want from me?
39:50We had hoped you would be able to confirm a theory.
39:55Well?
39:56The estuary was the entrance to a busy naval base during the war.
40:01There would have been picket boats patrolling the Channel day and night.
40:05Someone had to ensure that they kept well away from the Toreador.
40:09A telegraphist wouldn't have the authority to do that.
40:12Exactly.
40:13They would have taken Executive Muscle, an officer.
40:17But he would have gone absent without leave too, wouldn't he?
40:19Not necessarily.
40:20He might have served out his time in order not to arouse suspicion.
40:25Perhaps even rising to a high rank before he retired.
40:28With a nice little nest egg to cushion him.
40:30He certainly could have afforded to retire in style.
40:33But as you say, Mr. Bowman, it's just a theory.
40:36At the moment.
40:38I hope shortly to have it confirmed.
40:40By whom?
40:41One of the surviving mutineers.
40:43Perhaps Hawkins himself.
40:45I wish you luck.
40:47But I still don't understand why you came to see me.
40:50I checked the list the Admiralty gave me.
40:52You are the only serving officer who was on duty the night the submarine disappeared.
40:58There is a pity my memory is so fallible.
41:03You have nothing to tell me?
41:04I'm afraid not.
41:06Then I'm sorry to have troubled you.
41:09Goodbye.
41:10Goodbye.
41:12Goodbye.
41:49Damned home office.
41:51Always worth a pain.
41:55Goodbye.
42:01Goodbye.
42:03Goodbye.
42:12Goodbye.
42:43oh I'm sorry to disturb you I'm doing a survey for the city home and country garden magazine
42:48my name is forgotten your name love let me refresh your memory it's maggie forbes
43:01better come in maggie do as tommy says love my brother ain't got no patience at all
43:11not when he thinks people are threatening him
43:23is she still alive oh of course she is crazy old cow probably outlive us all
43:31are you charlie hawkins ex-able seaman of the toreador dead right oh yes dead make no mistake and we
43:39mean to stay that way we saw them diving in the estuary suppose you know all about it by now
43:47I think so pity oh well better come and meet the other men
44:02those that have turned up why only six half of us are dead some went abroad
44:11rest decided to stay here with their families they're new families hardly new
44:16some of us are grandparents by now by our second wives
44:20ah so you're bigger mists as well as murderers
44:26fixie grange is clear belongs to a doctor and his missus
44:30toffee knows bear over and parkham house is the home of ladies stockburn all lavender and lace over
44:36it has to be maggie's place the cedars and it's more than five minutes since we heard from her over
44:47you never married again no not me i've had several flings of course but
44:52flo's the only one for me
44:54you never contacted her i wanted to
44:58but she'd have given the game away sooner or later
45:01so you let her grieve on her own
45:04what else could i do i tried to speak to her several times but i just couldn't
45:10i have to think of the other lads
45:28three all right move
45:32oh
45:33tommy
45:34here we are tommy
45:36don't be daft tommy
45:38what the hell do you think you're doing
45:40what's it look like
45:41the game's over
45:42we've lost
45:43then we'd lose like fighting men
45:45no surrender
45:46so you're taking the easy way out
45:48hmm
45:49think first the coward's way
45:51shut up you
45:52you're responsible for this mess
45:54if our time's up then we're taking you with us
45:56you sure that thing works
45:58your grenade didn't work
46:00a band of bleeding heroes flo called you
46:03toughest crew in the service
46:06patrol after patrol
46:07shut up
46:08more action than any other sub in the fleet
46:11a barrel load of medals
46:12i said shut up
46:14until you got tired and greedy
46:16and then you changed from a band of heroes
46:18into a gang of killers and thieves
46:20give us that gun
46:21no
46:22no
46:24the rest of you may have gone soft
46:26but not me
46:27she's going to pay for what she's done
46:29just like us
46:32what's the point
46:34we've all had a good run
46:35if we end up in the brig
46:37it will still have been worth it
46:38Tommy
46:40great man will stay alive
46:41take what's coming to him
46:43you're just trying to save your skin
46:45well it won't work
46:47we were taught to kill our enemy
46:49no he's there
46:50but he's
46:52no he's there
46:52no he's there
46:53but he's
46:53and he's going to pounce
47:05i'm just going out for a little walk
47:07see if i can part a few rabbits
47:42I do believe there's a touch of spring in the air.
48:09This is a message from Samuel Bennett, and the driver is contacting the first direct.
48:14Send the 1-9-1.
48:16Receive, actually. This is the 1-3.
48:18I know our ship's company. Find the right. Quick. Fight!
48:24Right.
48:27Come on, Bert.
48:29Right. Left. Right. Left.
48:39Lads. That's what Charlie Hawkins call them.
48:42Like stable lads.
48:43I think they've been pretty long in the tooth and all.
48:46I suppose if you grow old with someone, they always seem young to you.
48:50It must have been hell in the war.
48:52Huh?
48:53In the subs.
48:55All them exploding finger me bobs around you.
48:58Maybe that's what turned them into villains.
49:00See the dolphins leap and blow.
49:02There's something nasty down below.
49:05Who wrote that?
49:06One of our great lyric poets.
49:08A chap called...
49:09Beaumont.
49:11Nigel Beaumont.
49:47The
49:50That
49:59Boy
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