Fair Stood the Wind for France MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 12, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min

Fair Stood the Wind for France MCQs

1. What did the distant Alps resemble?

A. Glacial valley shadows
B. Starchy, blank glare
C. Misty water crests
D. Crumpled cloth folds

D. Crumpled cloth folds.
The Alps, lying below the aircraft in the moonlight, looked like crisp folds of crumpled cloth in the distance.

2. Who joked about Hannibal crossing the Alps?

A. O’Connor
B. Franklin
C. Godwin
D. Sandy

D. Sandy.
Sandy made a historical reference, comparing their long flight over the mountains to Hannibal’s famous campaign.

3. How long had Franklin been operational?

A. Into the third summer
B. Since late spring
C. Three hundred hours
D. A whole year

D. A whole year.
If Franklin had kept flying until October, he would have been operational for a full year with most of his same crew.

4. How did Franklin manage long trips?

A. Took many breaks
B. Slept sometimes
C. Ignored the darkness
D. Foreshortened his mind

D. Foreshortened his mind.
Franklin learned the habit of flying relaxed, never looking forward beyond the next moment of darkness.
5. What caused the aircraft to skew violently?

A. Flak from Italy
B. Lost weight suddenly
C. Trouble in the port engine
D. Huge air pocket

C. Trouble in port engine.
The violence occurred when the trouble in the port engine began, seemingly ejecting something forcefully.

6. What physical event did Sandy suggest?

A. Engine failure
B. Fuel line bust
C. Breaking an air-screw
D. Short circuit

C. Breaking an air-screw.
Sandy suggested that the sudden, violent movement and resulting feelings could be caused by breaking an air-screw.

7. What was Franklin’s immediate decision after the failure?

A. Turn back quickly
B. Try for home
C. Landing within minutes
D. Baling out quickly

C. Landing within minutes.
Franklin calmly rejected both getting home and baling out, deciding instead to land the Wellington within five or ten minutes.

8. Where did Sandy estimate their position?

A. South of Paris
B. North of Paris
C. Near Cologne
D. West-north-west Vosges

D. West-north-west Vosges.
Sandy estimated their location was roughly west-north-west of the Vosges mountains, somewhere south of Paris.

9. What must the crew remove before walking?

A. Flying jackets
B. All the rations
C. Maps and logs
D. Identification marks

D. Identification marks.
Franklin instructed the crew to remove identification marks and bust up the aircraft before starting to walk away.
10. What was wrong with the crash ground?

A. Too hard and stony
B. Full of trees
C. The ground was too soft
D. Asphalt smooth

C. The ground was too soft.
Sandy explained that everything was fine except that the ground was too soft, which caused the aircraft to loop in a marsh.

11. What felt like aircraft engines thundering?

A. Shock of the crash
B. Severe headache
C. Sergant O’Connor
D. Pumping in the left arm

D. Pumping in the left arm.
After the crash, Franklin felt the beat of aircraft engines pumping violently in the arteries of his injured left arm.

12. What did Sandy immediately put on Franklin?

A. Bandage
B. Painkiller
C. Cold pressure
D. A tourniquet

D. A tourniquet.
Sandy saw blood spurting viciously from Franklin’s vein and realized he had to apply a tourniquet immediately.

13. Why did Franklin not burn the Wellington?

A. Too hard to burn
B. Engine failure
C. Needed the fuselage
D. Land was bare and open

D. Land was bare open.
Franklin thought escape was safer than firing the aircraft because the surrounding land was bare and too openly exposed.

14. Which direction did Franklin tell the crew to walk?

A. Due South-west
B. Towards the Alps
C. Following the river
D. Straight into the moon

D. Straight into the moon.
Franklin instructed the crew to walk roughly west, using the moon as their guide, until just before sunrise.
15. What made Franklin feel foolish and angry in the marsh?

A. The bitter cold
B. O’Connor leaning
C. Sandy running away
D. His movements forward

D. His movements forward.
Franklin’s movements across the marshy ground were clumsy, like someone just out of a sickbed, making him angry.

16. What did Franklin worry about regarding his wound?

A. Sandy’s rough bandage
B. Infection setting in
C. The arm was broken
D. Blood congealing properly

D. Blood congealing properly.
Franklin worried that if the wound was large and near the vein, the blood might not congeal properly, affecting their safety.

17. What comforted Franklin while struggling up the hill?

A. O’Connor’s support
B. The rising moon
C. The distant sergeants
D. Watching his own feet

D. Watching his own feet.
Watching his feet lumping along, huge in the flying boots, unexpectedly and enormously comforted Franklin while climbing the slope.

18. Where did the crew finally lay up for the day?

A. Inside a farmhouse
B. In a rocky outcrop
C. Inside the mill
D. Under a clump of trees

D. Under a clump of trees.
Sandy found a clump of trees, part of a wood, where they could hide safely and watch the surrounding valley below.

19. What worried Franklin after finding the wood?

A. The coming darkness
B. Lack of food
C. Sandy’s low rations
D. Sergeants left wood

D. Sergeants left wood.
Franklin was worried because the three sergeants had gone off alone on a reconnaissance mission (“reccy”) against his wishes.
20. What did Franklin believe they must find before dark?

A. A doctor
B. A river crossing
C. Safe clothes
D. A house or farm

D. A house or farm.
Franklin reasoned that they couldn’t travel much farther without food and must find a house or farm before dark.

21. What crops covered the hillside seen from the wood?

A. Rough dry grass
B. White corn strips
C. Potatoes flowers
D. Terraces of vines

D. Terraces of vines.
From the wood, Franklin observed white strips of cornland and terraces of blue-green vines on the middle folds of the slope.

22. How did the woman react to Franklin’s approach?

A. Kind and helpful
B. Welcoming and giving
C. Offering much food
D. Scared and hostile

D. Scared and hostile.
The woman stopped suddenly, looking scared and almost hostile, and repeatedly told Franklin, “No. Not here”.

23. What crucial geographical detail did the scared woman reveal?

A. German location
B. Occupied line
C. Village name
D. The presence of a river

D. The presence of a river.
Despite her fear and hostility, the woman told Franklin that there was a river beyond the main road.

24. What material made up the road they crossed that night?

A. Dusty gravel
B. Loose sand
C. Rough cobblestones
D. Tyre-worn tarmac

D. Tyre-worn tarmac.
Franklin noticed the black shine and friendly odour of the tyre-worn tarmac as they went over the road in the darkness.
25. Why did O’Connor forbid Franklin from swimming?

A. Current was fast
B. Franklin too tired
C. Wound would break open
D. Bandage would slip

C. Wound would break open.
O’Connor pointed out that if Franklin swam, the wound would likely break open again due to the wet bandage and exertion.

26. How did O’Connor advise swimming with clothes bundle?

A. On his stomach
B. Side stroke
C. Crawl stroke
D. Swimming on his back

D. Swimming on his back.
O’Connor advised using the legs and swimming on the back to keep the clothes bundle dry above the water.

27. What sensation did Franklin feel when O’Connor pulled him backward?

A. Extreme cold shock
B. Losing buoyancy
C. Sharp arm pain
D. A spasm of panic

D. A spasm of panic.
As O’Connor pulled him backwards into the river water, Franklin experienced a momentary but tight spasm of panic.

28. What did the moon resemble when it burst into view?

A. Silver shilling
B. Bright white light
C. Red quarter deepening
D. Ripe orange fruit

D. Ripe orange fruit.
As he crossed the river, Franklin saw the moon bursting like ripe orange fruit beyond the distant black poplar trees.

29. What structure did Franklin identify near the river curve?

A. A large farmhouse
B. A hunting lodge
C. Squarish white house
D. A mill building

D. A mill building.
Franklin identified the tall, squarish, dustily white building on the curve of the river below the hill as a mill.
30. What visible trait did Franklin note about Françoise?

A. Short black hair
B. Small, delicate hands
C. White apron
D. Bare brown legs

D. Bare brown legs.
As Françoise walked ahead of him over the kitchen threshold, Franklin noticed her slim, strong, bare brown legs.

31. What profession had Françoise’s brother, Henri, held?

A. Mill worker
B. Sergeant
C. Doctor
D. Pilot

D. Pilot.
The doctor later mentions that Françoise’s brother, Henri, was shot down on May 31st, implying he was a pilot.

32. Where were Franklin and the sergeants to be hidden during the day?

A. Upstairs room
B. In a boat
C. Corn-sacks
D. In the mill

D. In the mill.
The father and Pierre arranged for the men to be hidden in the mill, only coming out at night.

33. Why did Françoise insist that Franklin visit the doctor?

A. To obtain papers
B. To get pain relief
C. Bandages were too tight
D. Wound needed stitching

D. Wound needed stitching.
Françoise believed Franklin’s wound was serious and insisted that it needed stitching to prevent trouble later on.

34. What items did Franklin offer the doctor from his kit?

A. Compass and maps
B. Biscuits and rations
C. Flying instruments
D. Morphia anti-tetanus

D. Morphia anti-tetanus.
Franklin offered the doctor morphia, anti-tetanus, and gentian ointment from the aircraft’s emergency supply.
35. What happened to the doctor’s son, also a pilot?

A. Died in action
B. Escaped to England
C. Flew Battles
D. Was taken prisoner

D. Was taken prisoner.
The doctor revealed that his son, who flew Morane 406s, was shot down on May 31st and was taken prisoner.

36. What was the German official at the mill chiefly interested in?

A. Checking IDs
B. Taking hostages
C. Suspecting the airmen
D. Assessing grape-crop

D. Assessing grape-crop.
The father explained that the German official had only been at the mill to assess the grape-crop, not because of suspicion.

37. What condition was falsely stated on the escape papers?

A. Blindness
B. Minor injury
C. Severe fever
D. Dèaf and dùmb

D. Dèaf and dùmb.
The papers for Taylor and Godwin stated they were dèaf and dùmb, reducing the risk of being questioned or identified.

38. What was Franklin’s temperature reading on the thermometer?

A. Under 100 degrees
B. Normal reading
C. A hundred five
D. Under a hundred four

D. Under a hundred four.
Franklin checked the thermometer secretly and found his reading was just under a hundred and four degrees.

39. What was the doctor’s drastic warning about Franklin’s arm?

A. Long recovery time
B. Permanent nerve damage
C. Immediate hospitalisation
D. Amputation necessary

D. Amputation necessary.
The doctor warned Franklin that if he remained in hiding instead of going to hospital, they would need to take off the arm.
40. What was Franklin’s immediate, greatest horror upon hearing the diagnosis?

A. Dying alone
B. Great pain
C. Being imprisoned
D. Never fly again

D. Never fly again.
The biggest horror that struck Franklin when told of potential amputation was the realization that he would never fly again.

41. What refreshing drink did Françoise bring Franklin?

A. Cold light ale
B. Watered red wine
C. Milk and rum
D. The juice of grapes

D. The juice of grapes.
When Franklin was ill and very thirsty, Françoise brought him the cold, slightly sweet juice of crushed grapes.

42. What act did the father ultimately commit?

A. Fired the revolver
B. Tried to escape
C. Turned traitor
D. Shot himself

D. Shot himself.
Franklin found the father lying dead on the sofa, having shot himself with the revolver Franklin left behind.

43. What realization did Franklin have about his missing arm?

A. It was strapped tight
B. Pain had ceased
C. It was infected
D. It was gone

D. It was gone.
After the operation, Franklin realized with sharp shock that he had no left arm, only a circular corset of bandage.

44. What event did the old woman say made France lose?

A. 1870 Franco-Prussian
B. The Second World War
C. German invasion
D. Mutiny in the Great War

D. Mutiny in Great War.
The old woman stated that France was beaten by the mutiny in the Great War, not during the current conflict.
45. What final act of kindness caused Franklin to cry?

A. Françoise’s kiss
B. Doctor’s compassion
C. O’Connor’s return
D. A cup of tea

D. A cup of tea.
The sight of the pale, creamy, hot French tea, reminding him of England, caused Franklin to suddenly break down and cry.

46. What news prompted Françoise to plan immediate departure?

A. Hostage situation
B. Franklin’s progress
C. German patrol
D. Village man’s visit

D. Village man’s visit.
The visit by the suspicious, gossiping man from the village made Françoise decide they had to leave that very night.

47. How did Françoise plan to get across the river border?

A. Get a bridge pass
B. Swim across at night
C. Walking along the bank
D. Rowing down the river

D. Rowing down the river.
Françoise had regularly rowed upstream, so the guards would get used to seeing a girl fishing, preparing for their escape.

48. What item did Miss Campbell have ready for O’Connor?

A. A railway ticket
B. Food rations
C. Money for the journey
D. Papers for Georges

D. Papers for Georges.
Miss Campbell found the ready-made papers for her deceased manservant, Georges Leblanc, for O’Connor to use.

49. Who jumped off the train to distract the gendarmes?

A. Taylor
B. Sandy
C. Franklin
D. O’Connor

D. O’Connor.
O’Connor jumped off the moving train at the frontier station, drawing the gendarmes away so Françoise could escape.
50. What injury did Franklin inflict on the gendarme in Marseilles?

A. Broke his nose
B. Shot his arm
C. Kicked his leg
D. Hit the whistle

D. Hit the whistle.
Franklin smashed the whistle into the gendarme’s mouth using the flattened palm of his good hand.

Brief Overview

Fair Stood the Wind for France is a novel by H. E. Bates, first published in 1944. The title comes from Michael Drayton’s poem “Agincourt.” The novel centers on themes of love, trust, and the courage of ordinary people enduring wartime.

The story follows Franklin, a British airman piloting a Wellington bomber. The port engine fails over France, forcing him to land the plane in German-occupied territory. He seriously injures his left arm. Sergeant Sandy applies a tourniquet, and Franklin and his four sergeants escape. They cross a river with the help of O’Connor.

They find refuge at a mill where they meet the French girl, Françoise. A doctor warns Franklin that his severe wound will require amputation if he remains hidden. Franklin eventually loses his arm due to the injury. The Germans later shoot the local doctor who treated Franklin, and Françoise’s father, deeply distressed, commits suicíde.

Franklin and Françoise decide they must escape together. They travel by rowing boat, then by bicycle, and finally reach Marseilles, where Franklin reunites with O’Connor. They obtain new papers from English allies.

On the train toward the Spanish frontier, O’Connor jumps off the train and fires his revolver to create a major distraction. This sacrifice allows Franklin and Françoise to pass safely to freedom. Franklin plans to marry Françoise, finding a future based on their shared endurance.

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