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My contact with the military began when I went on a blind date with my friend, Doreen. There I met my future husband, Gordon at the dance in Ruislip. After this foursome, I had several ‘twosome’ date s with Gordon and 3 years later we married. I had the coupons to buy a dress and another for one of my bridesmaids but the rest were borrowed.
Gordon was in the RAF. He had volunteered for aircrew but he was grounded because he was colour blind. He was eventually sent with his squadron, 902 I think, to India. He sailed from Liverpool and of course, I did not know where he was going but we accepted this even though it was hard.
We had our own way of keeping track of where he was. He was able to send me books from the library where he was stationed and of course I could look at the librarby stamp which told me where he was.
I listened to the ´óÏó´«Ã½ to which also helped me to keep track of what he might be doing. I missed him a lot. When I felt sad and lonely I would cuddle his dressing gown. We wrote to each other almost every day. The letters would arrive in a bundle so I could spend a whole day reading them. This of course was after I had finished working.
I worked for Marks & Spencers in London. Soon after the war began we were evacuated to Blackpool. Every 2 weeks we would be allowed a weekend off and I would head home. We had to catch what we called the ‘milk train’ between London and Manchester.
We were often joined by a very nice man who carried a attaché case and got off at Bletchley. I remember seeing his photograph in books written much later about the code cracking at Bletchley Park. I have often wondered why he always travelled with our party and it has made me think that all the work we were doing typing things with Marks & Spencers might have been a part of the activities at Bletchley Park.
On one trip, Mr Atlee got on our train from Bletchley as we headed towards London.
I enjoyed VE day as it meant that many of the restrictions were lifted. But I soon realised that for Gordon the war was not over. Even when VJ arrived I could not celebrate until he came home. When he did I was able to celebrate and family life with the little daughter he had seen just before he went to Borneo soon resumed.
This story was submitted to the people’s War site by a volunteer from CSV Oxford on behalf of Joan Harding. It is the edited transcript of a taped interview and she gave written permission for the material to be edited and published.

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