The love story of Reverend Vivian Redlich and Sister May Hayman.

Lines of Escape, the story of mission workers and civilians, along with New Guinea administration staff and Australian military personnel, trying to escape the invading Japanese forces in January, 1942.

The two mastered ship, Maclaren-King, sailed west through the calm waters of the Bismarck Sea. The ketch hugged the coastline along Dyke Ackland Bay, heading for Buna mission where she would unload some of the fifteen tonnes of supplies she carried.
One of the passengers on board, Reverend Vivian Redlich, stood upon the ketch's heaving deck, taking the occasional puff from his pipe as his eyes strained west.
37 year old, Redlich, was returning to Sangara Mission after convalescing on the coast from a short illness.
As excited as, Vivian, was to be returning to Sangara, it was not the mission or his parishioners that now had him balancing against the rails of the, Maclaren-King, his eyes searching the coastline ahead.
It was the thought of being reunited with his brand new fiancée that had Vivian's heart racing.
May Hayman was the Sister at Gona Mission station, located further west along the New Guinea coast from Buna.
Thirty nine year old May had dedicated her life to the church and had been in New Guinea for six years. After being sent to remote, Gona Mission, she believed, due to her age, the chance of marriage had passed her by.
That was until the completely unexpected, yet very welcome, marriage proposal from Vivian a few short weeks ago.
May, was delighted at the sudden engagement which she happily agreed to.
Now, Vivian, silently willed the ketch forward, desperately keen to see his beautiful, May.
There was a sudden roar from the sky above and Vivian looked up to see a flight of small fighter planes racing towards Buna.
Vivian watched the small planes disappear into the blue sky ahead with a quizzical expression set upon his face. Odd, he thought, wondering where the fighters could be going in such a great hurry.
The Maclaren-King's Captain soon appeared on the deck alongside Vivian and told him Japanese soldiers had landed at Buna and Gona Missions, and that he could take the ketch no further. The Captain would have to turn the ship around and try to make it to safety.
Vivian stared at the Captain for a moment. He would have none of that. He must get to Gona, he must get to May. Vivian felt sure, May, along with the rest of the Gona Mission staff, would have escaped the invading Japanese forces, fleeing into the jungle, and he had to find her.
Vivian quickly convinced the Maclaren-King's Captain to put him ashore so he could continue his journey west on foot.
Vivian soon landed on a white sandy beach and the ship's crew watched him stride up the narrow beach and into the dark fringing jungle.
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