大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a volunteer from Northumberland on behalf of Mrs. Mary Johnson (nee Oliver). Mrs. Johnson fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions, and the story has been added to the site with her permission.

In 1943, when she was seventeen years old Mary Oliver, as she then was, volunteered to join the Land Army, one of the few services prepared to accept volunteers before they were eighteen years of age. Her accommodation was in a large house in The Wyndings immediately behind the sand dunes at Bamburgh, Northumberland. Her duties embraced every aspect of farming.

Recreation time was often spent at nearby Seahouses where most public houses offered a piano which Mary would play to the accompaniment of her friends singing. One evening before the music and song began she caught the eye of a soldier. When Mary and her friends retired to the bar, where the piano was, soldiers soon followed, to join in the merriment. After a while, the chap who had caught Mary鈥檚 eye came across and offered to play the piano while she had a rest, which offer Mary readily accepted. It was immediately apparent that he was an accomplished pianist. He was soon playing songs Mary knew, so she started to accompany him with song.

The soldier was Robert Docker, who was a sergeant in the King鈥檚 Royal Rifle Corps but who was better known before and after the war as a 大象传媒 musical arranger. Robert must have thought Mary had a good voice, as he invited her to sing with the dance band he led at his camp at Morpeth. On each occasion she did so, Mary was provided with transport to and from the camp.

Soon after they got to know one another, Mary invited Robert to her home, to enjoy her Mother鈥檚 cooking. He was delighted to accept and ended up staying for the weekend during the course of which he was paraded to whichever relatives had pianos in their homes. After the introductions were over, Robert appeared to be very happy to play a few tunes, to the delight of all concerned.

During the course of the war, Mary and Robert exchanged a few letters. Invariably, those from him ended with a few musical notes at the foot. However, when Robert received word of an overseas posting he suggested that their correspondence should stop. In his last letter, he expressed his impression that he would soon see Mary鈥檚 鈥渘ame in lights鈥�. After that, they lost touch with each other but Mary often heard him playing piano over the radio and, occasionally, she would see him during the early days of television.

Some years ago Mary decided to attend a Land Army reunion at the Albert Hall, London. She took a chance and contacted Robert Docker, to see if he would like to be involved. Robert explained that he had remarried after his first wife died and that he had two children, both grown up and working in the Police Force. He thought it might be inappropriate for him to get involved with the event, so the invitation was politely declined.

Robert Docker died on 9 May 1992. Mary remembers their wartime concerts and the opportunity she had to sing with a renowned and prolific arranger and pianist as being a 鈥渢hrill of a lifetime鈥�.

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