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This story has been submitted by Alison Tebbutt, Derby CSV Action Desk on behalf of Ethel Haine. The author has given her permission and fully understands the site's terms and conditions

It was definitely a Monday lunch time because Father and I had just arrived home from work for our dinners and we were sitting at the dining table. Mother was serving out the stew when the front door bell rang. She took off her apron and answered the door. Within moments he was back again followed by a strange lady and was saying ‘well, take your coats off, your just in time for some dinner.’ So a small helping was taken off each of the three dinner plates to make a fourth portion. Who was she? She certainly seemed pleasant and was certainly a Londoner.

In 1944 the South East of England was pelted with flying bombs-the V1 and V2 known as ‘doodle-bugs.’ Twenty five thousand homes were destroyed. The lady visiting our home was from that area and she said that every other house in her avenue had been hit. She seemed to be in her middle 50’s and had suddenly lost her nerve and couldn’t stay there any longer. So she put her clothes in a suitcase, locked the door, gave her key to the A.R.P. Warden and caught a train to Derby, then a bus out to our village before going straight to the Vicarage.
After telling her story to the Vicar he sent her to see our mother. Mother just left the washing. Some clothes still in the dolly tub and others were waiting to be pegged out on the washing line.

During the afternoon she took her to visit a number of friends in the village in an effort to fin her accommodation and by tea-time she had her fixed up. She was the widow of a professional man and money didn’t seem to be a problem. But why had she come to our village? Her son was in the Army and stationed on the outskirts of our village.

She was of course a practising Christian and we all got on famously. Like us, she had a great sense of humour. She stayed with our friends for eleven weeks and then went back home for a while. Mother and I took her on holiday to Morecambe. It was 24/10d return by train. We visited her and she came up to see us from time to time, until she died.

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