大象传媒

My husband was in regular service in the Royal Marines. He was in the forces long before the war, but ended up on HMS Sheffield.

We met at a wedding in 1938. I was the bridesmaid, he ws the best man. We married in 1941. He was Canadian. He had come to the UK on holiday, and stayed so he could join the marines in Liverpool.

From 1939 I was conscripting at Armstrong Sidly. I worked there for quite a while, then I got sick so I got released from that factory.

I got to see my husband at intervals. He got sick and came off the ship and went to the barracks in Portsmouth. I had to go through the blitz to visit him at first. The trains were packed with servicemen, it was so busy.

I went to live with him and discovered I was pregnant when he had to go into hospital. He contracted TB in the barracks and got sent to Cumbria.

I visited him every weekend for around seventeen months. Then he came back to Lancaster where I lived.

James recovered and got work at a power station. He did feel bitter about not being in service anymore. We moved to Wigan, then to Derby. We had two boys.

I liked Portsmouth and went back after the war, but it wasn't the same.

This story was submitted to the site by Alison Tebbutt, Derby CSV Action Desk, on behalf of Rita Craig. The author fully undertands the site's terms and conditions and has given her permission.

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