As always, only the three girls who were off duty that day remained at Goodwill House – the rest had departed a considerable time before Joanna eventually went downstairs. At least wearing black meant she didn’t have to spend any time discussing her outfit with Baxter.
There was a nasty taste in her mouth and her head was thumping; in future she’d be more abstemious when it came to alcohol.
‘Good morning, Joanna, you look exactly the way I feel. I think we rather overindulged last night. The very thought of sitting through an interminable sermon this morning is making me feel even more nauseous.’
‘Good morning to you, Elizabeth. I can’t face breakfast, but I think if we share a large pot of coffee, we might just about be able to face the morning without disgracing ourselves. Have you seen Liza or Joe?’
‘Joe is doing his outside chores. He looks very smart in David’s old suit, so I hope he manages to keep manure from his person.’
‘There shouldn’t be any of that as the poultry don’t need cleaning out today and all he has to do is let them out and feed them. The horse is also turned out. So you haven’t seen Liza? She’s usually up and about early even on a Sunday.’
The twins used the back staircase as the one to the attics opened onto this. The girl appeared as Joanna and Elizabeth headed for the kitchen for the much-needed coffee.
‘It takes me so long, my lady, to decide what to wear now I’ve got several nice frocks to choose from. I made me and Joe a black band what we can wear around our arm to show our respect, like.’
Liza was wearing a pretty floral dress which fitted snugly around her recently acquired curves. ‘That’s a perfect choice, my dear. You look very smart and thank you for thinking of the armbands.’
‘I told Joe to have the kettle ready and grind some beans for your coffee. I don’t reckon neither of you will want much to eat.’ The girl grinned. ‘I expect you’ve both got a bit of a headache.’
To her surprise, Elizabeth answered cheerfully. ‘We certainly have, and it serves us both right. The only good thing about suffering from the after-effects of too much wine is that I’ll probably sleep through the service. Please don’t wake me up until it’s time to leave. Everyone will think I’m just a poor old lady overcome with grief.’
‘I reckon you’ll feel tickety-boo after a bit of toast and some black coffee, my lady. I’m ever so much looking forward to going to church. Last time we went, my nan couldn’t believe her eyes when Joe and I sat in the front pew with you and not at the back with the riffraff.’
‘Have you been to see her recently?’ Joanna asked.
‘No, and we ain’t going to, neither. We don’t need no one else now, we’ve got each other and we’ve got Goodwill House.’
‘You certainly have, my dear, this place will always be your home.’ Even as she said this, Joanna felt a twinge of guilt. If this was their home, then they shouldn’t be working as if they were employed here. This was something she would discuss with Elizabeth once they knew exactly how parlous their finances were.
They used the gig to go down to the village as it was too far for Elizabeth to walk and there was room for the vehicle and the horse in the churchyard. Star, the grey mare who pulled it, was quite content to graze on the lush grass whilst they were inside.
Joanna was happy to accompany Liza on foot as there was only room for three on the seat and even that was a bit of a squeeze. They set out before the others.
‘Liza, if you had the opportunity, what would you like to do with your life?’
‘I don’t have no plans, my lady, apart from living here. I reckon if this blooming war ain’t finished, then I’ll become a WAAF. Joe’s determined to be a pilot but he reckons he needs to be better educated as all of them seem to be posh boys.’
‘If things are settled favourably with the bank and we’re no longer in danger of losing the house, would you like me to pay for a tutor, if I can find one, so that you and your brother can complete your education? You’re both intelligent young people and I’m sure would have no difficulty passing your school certificate with a little help.’
‘Blimey, imagine that! I’d like to talk proper, not sound as if I’m some rubbish from the East End. Maybe you and old my lady could show me how to do that.’
‘Forgive me if this seems intrusive questioning, my dear, but are you and Joe literate and numerate? Can you read and write and handle numbers confidently?’ She’d hastily added an explanation after the blank look on Liza’s face.
‘I can do adding and that in my head, no trouble, so can Joe. We ain’t too clever with reading and writing and that would be a start. We ain’t stupid, we just sound as if we are.’
‘Then, if your brother’s agreeable, we’ll put aside two hours a day to put that right. I’m sure my mother-in-law will be only too happy to help if I’m busy with one of my meetings.’
‘That’ll be grand. We’ve learned the words to the hymns so nobody knows we ain’t reading them from the book. It’s a good thing that old bloke what plays the organ don’t know the tunes for more than half a dozen.’
The first time they’d gone to church, the twins had wanted to walk a few steps behind but Joanna had insisted they walked beside her. She was proud to have these two in her life and was thrilled that whatever happened with their finances, she and Elizabeth could still help them both achieve their dreams.
Without being told, Liza removed her sunny smile and replaced it with a solemn expression as they approached the church. The distinctive sound of a horse approaching meant that Elizabeth and Joe weren’t far behind.
She nodded and half-smiled at the villagers they met. The gig came in by the side gate, through which the hearse entered when delivering coffins to the churchyard. After settling the horse, Joe was ready to accompany them into church and they weren’t the last by any means as there were still families hurrying towards the door.
As expected, a lot of the congregation were wearing black and the mood was subdued, with none of the normal chatter that filled the church before the service started. The four of them sat in the family pew – the church had been paid for by Harcourts so these seats were reserved. Nobody else used them, even at weddings and funerals.
While this was the tradition, Joanna wondered if Elizabeth would agree that it was high time it was abandoned, if only for the times when others had the church for their exclusive use. Another thing to discuss when they were home again.
‘Still no sign of our new vicar, Joanna, I think that a very poor show. His wife and family have been here for some time and he should be with them. I do hope we don’t get that imbecile we had last week.’
Fortunately, Elizabeth kept her voice down and, as they were in the front pew, nobody else would have heard her remark.
‘As you said you intended to sleep through his sermon, then I hardly think it matters. I agree, there must be something going on that we don’t know about for the man not to have taken up his position.’
The organ wheezed and groaned, the congregation stood and the sweet pure voices of the choir soared into the ancient rafters. Joanna wanted to turn her head and see who was taking the service but kept her eyes firmly on the altar.
Ted and half his flight, including Freddie, were given permission to leave the base for the morning.
‘I need to go to Hawkinge, sir,’ he said to the adjutant, ‘is there any chance I can borrow a car?’
‘I’ll give you a chit, Ted, but it’s up to the chap in charge of the motor pool to make the decision.’
Ted’s disreputable bicycle was where he’d left it. Having had it borrowed a couple of days ago, he now let down the tyres just to make it even less appealing – and, so far, this was working perfectly. He’d been lucky and an erk had recognised it and returned it to him. He kept a pump with his kit and it didn’t take him long to inflate the tyres and pedal across the strip to the motor pool, which was situated at the far end of the base.
He didn’t intend to speak to the sergeant who dealt with Millie and the other WAAF drivers but seek out one of the officers. He found someone of the same rank as him looking at lists of spare parts that had just arrived and were about to be put into the stores.
‘What can I do you for, Ted? Don’t think I’ve seen you over here before.’
‘I’m on the scrounge. I’m hoping I can borrow a vehicle, preferably a car, as I need to get to Hawkinge pronto.’
‘I’ll put it down as official business, shall I? Take the Austin – it’s a reliable little beast and will get you there and back in no time.’
Ted didn’t argue the point about it being official. The car had seen better days, second gear was a bit clunky, but it worked well enough and that’s all he needed. It was fortunate that he already knew the route to the base as all the signposts had now been removed – supposedly this would confuse any German parachutist who happened to drop in. It would certainly cause problems for visitors to the base but that wasn’t his concern.
At Hawkinge, Ted was waved through the gates, didn’t even have to slow down, which was rather lax but suited him as he didn’t have much time to spare. After parking the car outside the main admin block, he got out, intending to go in search of the resident vicar – or the bishop, as most bods called him – but found this unnecessary.
Church parade was in progress and he could hear hundreds of men singing enthusiastically somewhere close by. Would they be holding the service in an empty hangar or on the strip itself? All he had to do was follow the noise, hang about at the back and then make sure the bishop didn’t slope off before he could speak to him.
He wasn’t a religious man but, like anybody else doing the job he did, he liked to think there was something or someone watching out for him. Probably a load of nonsense but sending up a few prayers when things were dodgy made him feel better and couldn’t do any harm.
Obviously, only those not on duty were attending the church parade, but that still meant there were hundreds of men in blue and probably around fifty girls. No one spoke to him, nobody seemed to notice his arrival, and that bothered him a bit. He could be a German spy dressed in RAF uniform and nobody would be any the wiser.
This base was very close to the coast, it would be easy enough for a few spies to scramble up the nearby cliffs and infiltrate themselves – that’s if they managed to get through the minefields, the barbed wire and the hundreds of armed soldiers manning the guns along the beach.
When the final blessing was done and those gathered were dismissed, Ted shouldered his way through the throng who were heading in the opposite direction. The padre, a nominal officer and dressed in the same uniform as everyone else apart from the fact that he had a dog collar, looked up as Ted approached.
‘When did you arrive, I don’t recall seeing you here before?’
‘I’m not based here, sir, I’m at Manston. Could you possibly spare me ten minutes of your time?’
He quickly explained why he was there, omitting the fact that neither he nor Millie were of age, and the padre nodded. ‘What about Friday the fourteenth? I’ll come to Manston if that would make things easier. I expect you’d like the ceremony performed in front of people you know.’
‘As far as I know, Friday will be all right. We’ve been doing just routine patrols, reconnaissance and chasing off the occasional Jerry doing the same thing. That can’t last, so the sooner the better as far as we’re concerned.’
‘You’ve given me the necessary details but I notice you’ve not put down your years of birth, just the month and the day. You do realise, Flying Officer Thorrington, that if anybody cared to challenge it, your marriage could well be declared invalid?’
‘We both know that but the likelihood of that happening is remote to non-existent. I’ve not spoken to my father for years and Millie hasn’t spoken to hers since she became a WAAF nine months ago. They disapproved of her joining up and said they didn’t want to see or hear from her again if she did so.’
‘I assumed that might be the case. I do need to put your exact ages and it will be assumed that permission has been granted. As far as I’m concerned, if your CO is happy for you to be married, then that’s good enough for me to perform the service.’
‘I don’t know yet if I’m on duty, in reserve or will have a few hours free. Can you marry us wherever I am, unless I’m actually airborne, of course?’
‘Absolutely. I’m happy to do it wherever you both are at the time. If you’re on your own base, then it might be possible to have a bit of a do afterwards to celebrate. I know married RAF officers can live off base, but I think the fact that you’re marrying a WAAF complicates things somewhat.’
‘We know we can’t live under the same roof until the war’s over, but I’m sure we can spend time together when we’re off duty. Fraternisation between the girls and ourselves is frowned upon but once married, nobody’s going to complain if we’re seen together.’
Millie delivered the Australian crew and waited whilst those being relieved jumped into the back. As always, regardless of whether they’d been scrambled or not, the men were loud and seemed happy with their lot.
They’d lost three aircraft during Operation Dynamo, but all the pilots had survived. Two were back on duty but the third was still in hospital with broken bones. They were awaiting his replacement. She wondered idly where they found spare Australians to fill the gaps in these sorts of squadrons.
The Commonwealth countries were supporting Britain in her hour of need so Australian pilots must be arriving at the docks along with Canadians and Kiwis. She supposed there must also be men and women coming from South Africa, India and other exotic far-flung places, all eager to serve in whatever way they could.
It was still a mystery to her how they could fly in the dark, but they managed to do it just using their instruments and instructions over the wireless. She had no ambition to travel in an aeroplane, despite being engaged to a pilot and part of the RAF.
She’d got permission from Sarge to use the lorry to convey the girls to what would be their home in a few days. Apart from Di, who was at Goodwill House, everybody else was eager to see their new accommodation. She’d got to deliver some parts to Folkstone after this so only had half an hour free.
As it was Sunday, the base was quieter, but war didn’t stop on the sabbath, it was a seven-day-a-week exercise. That being said, routine deliveries tended not to arrive on a Sunday, which gave the false impression that there was nothing to worry about. The fact that the government had issued an edict that all Anderson shelters must be up and earthed in, and those that didn’t comply would be prosecuted, and that Hitler was just waiting for the opportunity to invade meant the so-called phoney war was over.
Millie had travelled alone in the cab. Things had been different since her promotion and everybody referred to her as Corp now, rather than Millie. Being in charge was something she hadn’t wanted but had grown into and at least would give her some privacy at the new billet.
With the keys to the shiny Nissen hut in her hand, she led the way. The door opened smoothly and she stepped in with as much interest as the others, wondering how things might have changed since she and Di had come a couple of weeks ago.
‘At least it’s clean, freshly painted, and looks as inviting as any metal hut possibly could,’ Pamela said.
‘When Di and I looked around, there was no heat in this part of the building, and now there is, I think it will be much more comfortable.’
‘Where are the ablutions?’ Phyllis asked looking around hopefully.
One of the other girls gestured with her thumb. ‘Not here, they’ll be in that block over there. It’s not going to be fun spending a penny in the middle of the night in the winter.’
Someone else pointed to the extra room that had been built since Millie had visited last. ‘Is that where you’ll be sleeping, Corp?’
‘I’ve no idea, shall we look? I’m thinking it might be an office of some sort with a telephone connected to the admin block.’
The girl nearest pulled opened the door and they all crowded in. ‘It’s an office, like you thought. Very posh and there’s a telephone. Wonder where you’ll be sleeping if it isn’t in here.’
‘I must be in the main room with all of you.’ Millie was all right with that but some of the others exchanged glances, which told her immediately they’d much prefer it if she wasn’t in there watching their every move.
They let her lead the way in. All the beds were now neatly set out, facing in alternate directions, ten down one side and ten down the other. There were lockers next to each bed and three hooks on the wall, which were either at the foot or the head of the bed.
What was new were the cubicles on either side of the central passageway adjacent to the entrance. She looked in the first, the one on the right, and sure enough, there was exactly the same utilitarian, RAF-issue furniture in here.
‘This is where I’ll be sleeping and I assume that the other is for an NCO as well.’
Pamela said what Millie was thinking. ‘It might give you some privacy, but you’ll be freezing in here as the heat from the central stove won’t reach your corner.’
‘I would take this one, Corp,’ one of the new drivers said as she peered into the cubicle opposite. ‘It’ll get some heat from the stove out there and will be a lot better than that one.’
Millie smiled. ‘I don’t see that it makes any difference. If there was someone more senior to me here already, then I’d not be able to take it. If I’m already installed, then whoever comes later can’t evict me.’
‘When do you think they’ll send the others here?’
‘They want to finish the second hut and then I think we’ll get the next lot – there’ll be room for ten of them in here with us. We’ll have a queen bee and probably a sergeant and at least two other NCOs. I know there’s accommodation for them in the main block where we have a recreation room, mess and the other offices.’
‘No need to see the bogs, girls, let’s get something to eat. I’ve got to be back on duty in twenty minutes. Who fancies a game of bridge when we get home tonight?’ Doris, the other new arrival, asked.
Millie smiled. She’d not put Doris down as a bridge player but it just showed how little she knew about the girls who’d arrived to replace Cora and Ruby. In future, she’d do better. If she wanted to be an officer one day, then it was her duty to understand and get to know those she was in charge of.