大象传媒

This story is submitted by Helen Hughes of the People's War team in Wales on behalf of Anne Lawrence, and is added to the site with her permission.

Serving with the Wrens in the war were the best years of my life, until the end of the war. I had a boyfriend; I鈥檇 known him since I was ten. He was the pilot of a Halifax bomber a flight lieutenant and on the third of February 1945 he was killed in action. The plane crashed in a village in Holland鈥nd this weekend I went to visit his grave. It was devastating. I wrote to the historical society at Bentley Priory. They gave me a whole list of what happened. They gave me the number of his plane鈥e took off from East Melbourne, Yorkshire, on a raid to Wanne Eickel, an oil refinery in Germany, and the exact time he took off 20.32 hours. The whole of his crew, the seven members of his crew, were lost. He was first buried in a small churchyard in Holland and then taken to Jonkerbos Military Cemetary which is at Nijmegen, where I鈥檝e just been with my son (summer 2005).

In Southampton, where I was serving as a Wren, I was summoned to the Commanding Officers office and I went down this long corridor quite happily, thinking 鈥淚鈥檝e not been up to anything that warrants me going down to see Third Officer Griffiths鈥濃�� When I knocked on the door she said 鈥渃ome in and sit down鈥�, and then she said 鈥淚鈥檝e had a phone call from your aunt Mrs. Challis of Barham Hall, Linton, Cambridge. I have to tell you Flt Lt Gibbs has been killed in action.鈥� And apparently I got up and said 鈥淭hank you, ma鈥檃m. That is war鈥�. I never shed a tear then. I didn鈥檛 even know where he was. I couldn鈥檛. Years later, my son, who is a Sgt Major in the Royal Regiment of Wales told me he was going to Holland. I said to him 鈥淐ould you find me Ron鈥檚 grave?鈥� 鈥淵es,鈥� he said 鈥渨here is it?鈥� and I thought: "I don鈥檛 know", and suddenly the name Nijmegen came into my head as if someone said Nijmegen鈥nd a few days later I had a phone call from my daughter-in-law and she said could I give her his full name and rank, which I did. And a couple of days after that I had a phone call from Charles saying I鈥檓 standing next to Flt Lt Gibbs鈥� grave. Although they鈥檝e got him down as Flying Officer he was promoted just before he was killed. But where he is鈥t鈥檚 a beautiful place, there are flowers. I took just one red rose. That goes back to childhood again. We used to spend our summer holidays with my aunt in Cambridge, and I always used to have a birthday card until I was 13, and I went down 鈥淲here鈥檚 my birthday card鈥�..he said 鈥淚鈥檓 not spending money on you鈥� and went outside and came back with a red rose and said 鈥渢here you are鈥� . So I had one on my 13th, 14th, 15th birthday and we sort of parted鈥e went in to the RAF and our paths crossed again in February 1942 and I had a red rose on my 18th birthday and my 19th birthday鈥� and I had one on my 21st and then he was killed. Although I married I still have his photograph in my house. Photographs of when we were children, and when I got married my mother was there and I said 鈥淲here鈥檚 my photograph?鈥� 鈥淣ow you鈥檙e married, I鈥檝e put it in the drawer鈥� and I said 鈥淲hatever drawer you put it in 鈥� take it out and put it back鈥�. So my husband then said: 鈥淲ho is he鈥�. I said 鈥淗e was killed in 1945 鈥� you don鈥檛 need to know any more鈥� 鈥� he just had to accept that. The one who鈥檚 in Holland came first鈥�.and there鈥檚 a lot of people like that.

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