Ackroyd

Private **Ackroyd** is a soldier of the British Army serving in North Africa. He is under the command of Second Lieutenant Brown and he along with Private Finch and Sergeant Bolter are taken by submarine to an Adriatic island. After setting up camp they discover that the island is the base for a small unit of Germans when Finch bumps into a German soldier while both are skinny dipping in the sea.

The British soldiers hunt for the Germans and find a former monastery where they are surprised by German officer, Hauptmann Eduard von Krisling. He explains that his group were guarding stores for re-supplying German submarines but have been forgotten by their superiors, and hadn't heard from them for 9 months. Von Krisling offers to share his supplies and accommodation if the British will agree to a truce. The British soldiers return to their camp to consider the offer and eventually agree to accept when they realise that their food and water are about to run out. They join the Germans at the monastery but both Sergeant Bolter and the German NCO Meister disagree. Von Krisling and Brown agree that should either the Germans or the British arrive on the island then they will surrender to whoever arrives first.

The two sides live harmoniously and even find mutual interests, with Finch befriending German archaeologist, Voss, and helping on an archaeological dig. One day, while sunbathing, Brown sees a woman in the sea clinging to some wreckage. He is unable to swim and calls to Finch and Voss to help him but they ignore his calls. Eventually he jumps in the sea but has to be rescued by the woman. The Finch talks to her and discovers that she is Serbian and doesn't understand English, French or German. Finally Finch tries Italian and is able to communicate with her. Its not long before the soldiers vie for her attention.

Bolter and Meister are still suspicious and eventually leave the monastery for a fist fight until they are too exhausted to continue. They both agree that their duty as a soldier is to return to their own army so that they can continue fighting. They agree to take the inflatable dinghy and return to the war. However they are unable to overcome the current and are forced to return to the island. As they return to the monastery they witness Finch being thrown through a window as the Brits and Germans had begun fighting over the attention of Elsa.

One night they here the sound of guns and the next day a British submarine arrives. The previous arrangement was for the Germans to surrender if the British showed up first but as they had become friends, Brown decides that he and his men will just leave and not tell them that the Germans are on the island. As the are about to leave for the Submarine Elsa shows up shouting for Finch. The officer asks who she is and Brown says she is Finch's faience and asks if they can take Elsa with them.

The Germans watch the Brits go from a hidden spot on the hilltop and as they are about to return to the monastery they spot that a German U-Boat, the U-53, has finally arrived for them.

## Gallery

Finch, Bolter, Brown and Ackroyd.Ackroyd, Bolter and Brown.Brown, von Krisling, Elsa, Ackroyd, Finch, Voss and Schmidt.Schmidt and Ackroyd.Brown, Ackroyd, Finch, Mortimer, Babbington and Elsa.