One Man's War

Wing Commander Robert T. P. Davidson, 27, of Vancouver, is a seven-year R.A.F. veteran who has fought in almost every theater of war, earned a D.F.C. Last week a report of his latest exploit came from Britain.

Davidson was in action over France last May when flak forced him to crash-land. Over his radio he shouted to his mates: "Tell my wife I'm okay!" While Germans hunted for him, he hid in a wheat field. "I heard a German officer give the order to shoot me on sight. Later they brought hounds . . . but the wonderful French people came to my aid. They milled all around the aircraft and so confused the dogs that it was impossible for them to pick up my scent." After dark, the French took him to a farmhouse, gave him peasant clothes and false papers identifying him as a "specialist carpenter."

Then, for almost four months, Bob Davidson fought his own war against the Germans. From eyewitnesses, he collected detailed robomb data and even drawings. Working with the F.F.I, he cut telephone wires, stretched ropes across highways to trap German dispatch riders. He raided German guard posts to steal guns and documents. "We'd steal explosives and carry them away in sacks. Two or three days later a bridge would blow up."

When Davidson merged his war with the Allied invasion a week or so ago, he could speak French well enough to fool a German. He had also acquired 4,000 francs. He explained: "I taught some of my French friends to play poker."

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