“It’s the coast guard!” declared Sarah. "The 4th Service."

“Good thinking. The Coastguard lookout station is to the east,” replied James. “But the message said to go south; and I think that’s where the RNLI lifeboat station is. Let’s check it out.”

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The children sprinted and splashed down towards the pier. In their ears they could hear rhythmic pounding, like the distant thunder of artillery charges, getting louder and louder. What was making that noise? 

 

James thought about what it must have been like here in WW2. He had read that the people of Teignmouth felt unprotected initially. The Luftwaffe regularly swooped in, almost unopposed; to bomb and strafe the town. As they ran towards ‘The Den’, James spotted the origin of the booming and rumbling noises which echoed past battles. Huge waves crashed into the sea defences, with such force that the town resonated with the repetitive pounding. With both high tide and the windy squall, the fight was on between salty sea; concrete, earth and stone. 

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​As the main lighthouse came in sight, battered by the high winds and spray; the children turned down Lifeboat Lane to the launch ramp and station. But what now? The doors were locked and crew were nowhere to be seen. All the children could find were posters of various RNLI activities; fundraising; and an abandoned deer-stalker hat tied to a post, flapping crazily in the wind.

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“Doesn’t that strike you as odd?” asked Sarah, eyeing the hat as it struggled like a tethered bird trying to escape.

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She untied the hat and started to unfasten the first ‘ear’ so she could use the hat as some protection against wind and rain. But as she did so, a note was uncovered, pinned inside. She passed it to James.