Thank you to all those who have taken the time to tell me about or write to me about their wartime experiences, or about their female relations who worked in the Sunderland shipyards during the Second World War. In particular: Iris Lindsay and her daughter Ann Robinson; Angela Stevenson, whose grandmother Catherine Jameson worked as a comptometer operator at Thompson’s; Marie Dale for her wonderful anecdotes about her mother Margaret Graham, who worked as a crane driver at Bartram’s and went on to nurse injured soldiers at the Ryhope Emergency Hospital; Ann Moss, whose mam, Doris Wilkinson (née Hope), worked as a lathe operator at Greenwell’s; and Marilyn Campbell whose mother, Joan Tate, worked as a French polisher at Austin & Pickersgill’s.
Thank you also to all the lovely staff at Fulwell Post Office: postmaster John Wilson, Liz Skelton, Richard Jewitt and Olivia Blyth, who have supported the Shipyard Girls from the off. Thank you to the wonderful booksellers at Waterstones Sunderland, the Sunderland Antiquarian Society – especially Linda King, Norm Kirtlan and Philip Curtis – researcher Meg Hartford, Jackie Caffrey of ‘Nostalgic Memories of Sunderland in Writing’, Beverley Ann Hopper, of The Book Lovers, journalist Katy Wheeler at the Sunderland Echo, Simon Grundy at Sun FM, and Lisa Shaw and her fantastic producer Jane Downs at BBC Newcastle.
To artist Rosanne Robertson, Soroptimist International of Sunderland, and Sunderland City Council for their continuing work to make the commemoration to the real shipyard women a reality. To Ian Mole for bringing the series to life with his Shipyard Girls Walking Tour.
To my former editor Cassandra Di Bello, now publisher at Simon & Schuster Australia, for planting the seed of one of the major romantic story lines in this book.
To my present editor and publishing director Emily Griffin and the whole of ‘Team Nancy’ at Arrow who have worked so hard to make the Shipyard Girls series a Sunday Times bestseller, and to my wonderful copy editor, Caroline Johnson.
Special thanks, as always to Diana Beaumont, of Marjacq Scripts, for being a such a fabulous agent.
And, of course, to my mum Audrey Walton (née Revell), and my husband, Paul Simmonds, for listening to me, encouraging me and for the love they give.
Thank you, all.