大象传媒

In memory of my husband
L/Cpl F.Rexstrew
1st. Airborne Div

This story I shall tell
I can remember well
Although it happen many years ago
I met my Fred
But now he is dead
And I always have missed him so
We were so young then
Only just sixteen
It was love at first sight
We went together
Out in all weather
Riding on our old motor bike
There were so many ways
And such happy days
We thought they would last forever
We would not have felt so sure
If we鈥檇 known about the war
For that stopped us being together
In 1940 he joined up
Simply said, 鈥淐ome on cheer up鈥�
Don鈥檛 worry this will all soon be over
He got leave later that year
He said would you marry me dear
How excited we all were, he was home
72 hours was all that he got
Not very long to do such a lot
But we all pulled together and got everything done
Twenty-five shillings brought the wedding dress
Only a guinea for the bridesmaid, I must confess
The restaurant looked lovely filled with vases of roses
Bedding Church was so select
The day was absolutely perfect
Then we spent our first night together
The next day he said goodbye
Now come on don鈥檛 cry
I鈥檒l be back again very soon
The years that followed were a nightmare
We had bombs every night
And he had to fight
He was in the First Airborne Division
And went all over the place
But came back with a smiling face
He was so proud to wear his red beret
I remember the nights I walked up the street
Freezing cold hands and bloomy cold feet
Fire watching that is what they used to call it
When Hitler dropped incendiary bombs
We all helped to protect our homes
Of course we were all trained to do this
In 鈥�44鈥� the doodlebugs arrived
Where ever they dropped no one survived
We all slept in our shelters every night
One night out of the sly
It came out of the sky
And crashed on our row of houses

From my shelter I crawled out
Glowing embers lay all around
The houses were flattened, nothing but rubble
Trees and plants everything was bare
Bits of chicken and cats everywhere
Only sticks left that once held tomato plants
Then I had a nowhere to go
I was terrible worried and so
Fred got compassionate leave to sort things out
To Newcastle, I was evacuated
With a family that was allocated
Then Fred left and I waved him goodbye
That was the last time that I ever saw him
Weeks later from Holland we heard about Arnham
All the hundreds of men that were killed or missing
I got this letter to say he was missing
But I knew he was dead, I鈥檇 had this premonition
I was woken up, my bed rocked to and fro
It was his way of trying to let me know
He had gone and was not coming back any more
I went back home to Mum
She was glad that I鈥檇 come
For six months we waited in vain for some news
It finally came 鈥淧resumed dead鈥�
That鈥檚 what the words in the letter said
They were just words that meant nothing to me
I was not allowed time to think or pray
I was busy giving birth to a daughter, his and mine
I wonder if he can see her wherever he is
Fifty-nine years have now passed by
Oh why, oh why did he have to die?

Gladys Baillie (nee Rexstrew)
Mitcham, Surrey

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