大象传媒

This story has been added to the People's War site by Alison Tebbutt of the CVS Action Desk on behalf of Joan Lowe. The author has given her permission, and fully understands the site's terms and conditions

My husband was an air gunner. He worked on the convoys. Being an airman was his career, he had begun in 1935. When the war first began, they didn't have many people trained, so all the men used to call my husband 'dad'. He was older and more experienced.
He used to fly for twelve hours at a time. He used to go to Iceland, Norway etc, often flying across the Atlantic three times a week. It was very tough for him.
We had married nine months after first meeting in 1939. In 1941, at 21, I had my first baby. We lived in Scotland for a while, my husband was posted up there. I liked it, the people were lovely, very kind. When I was pregnant I went home to Pembrokshire, to stay with my parents. My father was in the Home Guard. One night, after having the baby, all of a sudden the bombs started to fall. We used the basement as a bomb shelter. The bombs fell all night.
After that night, my husband came to fetch me and take me back to Scotland. It took us a day and a half. The forces had took over the trains. In those days you were lucky if you ever got a seat.
In 1941 my husband returned from Iceland after becoming ill. Eventually he was discharged. He was worked so hard, in such stressful situations. He never received a pension, just the discharge.
We moved to Derby. It was a very hard life. I had a young baby and a sick husband. But I got on with it. That is what we did in those days, we got on with it, you had too. It's how I was brought up. I had a big family, and even mucked in where neccesary.
I'm happy to sit back now, and live quietly. We were so busy in those days. I loved my husband very much, and still do. No-one will ever replace him.

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