by Mary Arden
‘Now listen carefully, Mary,’ he boomed down the line, ‘I am letting Lydia have some much needed leave, so I want you to come back to HMS Daedalus for a few weeks to cover for her, and that will then allow you to have your weekends free to organise your wedding and take compassionate leave for your honeymoon. How does that sound?’
‘Oh Daddy-T, you are a lovely man!’ I replied, and then seeing Commander Tapps and the Writer looking at me with astonishment, added more formally, ‘I mean thank you very much, Sir.’
‘Well before you get too excited, I have something else to tell you,’ he continued, ‘When you get back from your honeymoon, I will be posting you to Northern Ireland.’
I rushed back to the office to tell Rose that I would be leaving soon, and naturally she wasn’t very happy about it, until I told her the reason why I was going and then she said how thrilled she was for me. My friend Veronica shrieked with delight as soon as I told her about my engagement but then became quite tearful when I had said that I was going to be re-posted to Ireland after my wedding. She made me promise to stay in touch, saying that she considered me a lifelong friend and would be very cross with me if I didn’t write to her at least once a month and get in touch with her as soon as the war was over.
As I would be spending a few days with my family in Woking, before heading on to Lee-on-Solent, I made my way to see CPO McPhee about getting all my luggage and bicycle back home.
‘Leave it all to me,’ Chief said with a wink. ‘I usually only organise luggage relocation for Officers, not Leading Wrens, but as you are my birdwatching protégé I will make an exception this time!’
That same evening I rang my parents to tell them that I would be home in a week’s time. My mother then confirmed that she had been able to get the banns read and that the local church was going to be available either on the last Saturday of September or the first one in October, so would I let Duncan know as soon as possible so that we could lock-in on one of those dates.
I wasted no time in ringing Duncan’s parents to let them know the two available dates to pass on to Duncan, and that he would have to make a choice as quickly as he could. Father John said he would send a telegram via the Admiralty, which I thought was a brilliant idea. I then told him that I wouldn’t have time to stop off in Perth to see them on the way home, so ‘please do not to forget to bring the rings!’
A few days before I was due to leave Landrail, Petty Officer Brown, who was in charge of our billet, called all the girls together before we went to bed and made us promise not to repeat what we were about to hear.
‘A very brave woman,’ she began, ‘whose name I can’t tell you, is being dropped by parachute from one of our planes behind enemy lines tomorrow night and she will need somewhere quiet to sleep during the day from about after lunchtime until nine o’clock in the evening.’
We all looked at one another astounded but said nothing.
‘It has been decided that the Ugadale is the most suitable place for her to stay before her mission, so it is vitally important that the house is as quiet as possible during the time she is here,’ PO Brown continued. ‘Therefore it would be helpful if most of you would be willing to stay at the airbase until nine tomorrow evening. Now I know that it is Saturday and that a lot of you like to return here in the afternoon to rest, but I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that this woman has a chance to sleep before she goes.’
One of the girls said, ‘What are we all going to do holed-up at the airbase on a Saturday evening?’
PO Brown smiled and then said that a film showing had been arranged at the Entertainment hut after high tea, ‘I am afraid it is only a Western, as that was all that could be arranged at short notice.’
I told Veronica that I wasn’t keen on seeing a Western, and she said that neither was she, so we asked the PO if it was all right if we came back to the Ugadale after high tea, if we promised to be as quiet as mice. She agreed that we could but told us that we would have to walk back across the dunes, as there wouldn’t be any transport before nine. A girl called Helen overheard us and asked if she could join us, as she didn’t want to see the film either and didn’t want to walk back across the dunes alone.
PO Brown then explained that we would have to let ourselves in through the back door before handing Veronica a key and telling her to replace it in her office once we had let ourselves in and re-locked the door. ‘I know it sounds a bit cloak and dagger but I am sure you can appreciate that security is vital.’
After work the next day, Veronica and I waited by the gate to the dunes for Helen to join us and then the three of us headed back to our billet very slowly, chatting happily about what our plans were after the war was over. When we arrived back at the Ugadale we all stopped talking and walked very quietly to the back door. Veronica then opened the door to let us in and then locked it behind her, as silently as she could.
The hotel was mysteriously quiet and none of us had any idea of how to get back to the main part of the hotel, as this was a part of the hotel we had never ventured into before. There were several doors in front of us but none of us knew which one we should use, so seeing that one of them was already slightly ajar, I pushed it open to see where it led. To my amazement the door opened into a large area, that had a row of six washbasins fixed to one of the walls but there weren’t any taps, which I thought was a bit odd. I was quite thirsty after our walk and wondered how on earth I could pour myself a drink of water if there were no taps, so beckoned to Veronica and Helen to come and have a look.
‘I was just going to have a drink of water but can’t see any taps so can’t work out where the water comes from, can you?’ I whispered.
‘You wouldn’t want to drink out of them, Mary. They are urinals!’ she said as Helen snorted trying to stifle a laugh.
‘What are they meant for?’ I asked innocently, as I had never seen one before.
Helen then walked up to one of the urinals and gave a demonstration, ‘you silly cow, this is where the men have a pee!’
Veronica now shook with laughter and had to stuff her handkerchief in her mouth, so that she didn’t make any noise that might wake the mysterious sleeping woman.
The following week, I took the long journey back to Woking and it felt wonderful to be home again. My father told me that they had seen Archie McIndoe recently, and when they had told him that I was about to get married, he had reminded them that if it hadn’t been for him suggesting that I join the Wrens, I would still be a spinster! We all laughed; it seemed like such an age since I had become a Wren.
I phoned Duncan’s parents the next day to tell them that I had got home safely and that the Banns were already being called. They said that Duncan had been in touch and that the last Saturday in September was fine with him. Bumble asked me to thank my parents for offering to put them up and to tell them that she and Duncan’s father were very much looking forward to finally meeting them.
That night I went to bed early, worn out from all the travelling, and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I woke up the following morning to discover that Aunt Beth had just arrived with two suitcases full of clothes that she had found in one of the smarter second-hand shops in London that sold clothes without coupons.
‘These will be perfect for your honeymoon darling,’ Aunt Beth declared as she began to lift out garment after garment from the suitcases, ‘they just need the odd stitch here and there to make them fit.’
My mother said that one of her bridge friend’s had offered to lend me the dress her daughter had been married in to save buying a new one, thus saving precious coupons. Aunt Beth then suggested that I try it on right now, so I slipped it over my head and looked at myself in the mirror. I thought it looked rather dull, but Aunt Beth was cooing over it and saying that it was superbly cut and would show off my figure, ‘Don’t worry my dear,’ she reassured me as ever, ‘once I have worked my magic on it and made a pretty veil you will love it, I promise you.’
I
wasn’t convinced, but trusted my Aunt’s good taste in clothes, as she had never let me down in the past.
My mother then got in on the act and soon the two sisters were arranging my entire trousseau for me, without consulting me at all. It was decided on my behalf that apart from my wedding dress and veil, I would need three different nightgowns, two matching petticoats and knickers, four pairs of stockings and an assortment of other clothes that would not have been out of place on a cruise ship. I tried to point out that Duncan and I would be staying at a tiny country hotel for our honeymoon and not the Ritz, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears.
Later that evening I mentioned to my father that I felt a bit ashamed that we were spending so much money on my clothes when there was still a war on.
‘Don’t think about that too much, Mary, darling. Just enjoy watching your mother and her sister have so much fun organising your wedding for you. I haven’t seen your mother so relaxed and happy like this for ages, and it makes me feel good to see her this way, especially with Peter away in Burma.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry Daddy, I hadn’t thought of that. You must both miss him terribly, I know I do,’ I replied, hugging my father.
The following morning my bicycle and the rest of my belongings from Scotland were delivered. It was only two days until I was due to leave, so now I tried to forget all about the wedding and start sorting my clothes suitable to wear in Ireland.
I decided to go for a bicycle ride that evening and as I went past the entrance to the Derwents’ drive, I felt sad that none of the boys would be around, as they were all away fighting somewhere.
I just hoped that they were all still alive.
CHAPTER 15
1944
As I boarded the train in Woking to start my journey back to Lee-on-Solent, I had a flashback to the first time I had taken this same trip two years previously. I couldn’t believe all the places I had been to in that time. But when I arrived at HMS Daedalus it felt as if I had never been away.
I handed in my pass at the guardroom and went straight to the Billeting Office, where I was told that I would have to sleep in a Nissen hut with four other Wrens. It didn’t take long to unpack the few things that I had brought with me and then I went straight to the Special Eye unit to report to Daddy-T, who welcomed me like a long lost daughter.
It felt strange being in my old office without Lydia, and I wished she wasn’t away on leave, as it would be a bit lonely working there on my own. However, once I had arranged all the tests for the coming week, I soon got back into the routine and started to make myself at home. It turned out to be a busy week and before I knew it, I was back on the train again to go home for the weekend.
On the Saturday morning my mother took me to Old Woking church to meet the vicar, who would be conducting our wedding service and to talk to the organist to arrange the music. When we returned home, Aunt Beth had arrived. When she showed me what she had done to my wedding dress, I hardly recognised it, as instead of the boring garment I had seen only a week before, my clever Aunt had now transformed it into something fit for a Princess.
‘This is only the beginning, ‘Aunt Beth beamed, ‘wait until you see the veil I’m going to create for you.’
For the first time, I started to get really excited at the thought of walking up the aisle and now missed Duncan more than ever. For the rest of the weekend we discussed the choice of flowers, which hairdresser to use, who would go in which car, which guest would sleep in what room; and most importantly, what food we could provide in wartime for the wedding feast.
My second week at Daedalus was just as busy as the previous one, but thankfully it was all fairly easy and there were no problems with any of the tests. When I got home to Woking that Friday evening, there was a letter from Duncan waiting for me, which confirmed the dates of his arrival and our honeymoon arrangements.
Most of the weekend was taken up with last-minute fittings for my trousseau and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Aunt Beth had dyed an old pair of my slippers a lovely copper colour, which she told me would match the autumn colours of the flowers my mother had ordered for the church.
At the end of my third week at Daedalus, Daddy-T came to the NVT office to say goodbye and to wish me good luck. He gave me a box of silver teaspoons, as a wedding present from his wife and himself.
‘Before you leave, I just wanted to tell you what will be expected of you in Northern Ireland,’ Daddy-T said. ‘First you will be posted to HMS Gannet in Belfast, and then you will have to juggle your work between there and HMS Shrike, which is near Londonderry. You will be on your own to start with and it will be up to you to arrange how long you stay at each base, which will rather depend on how many pilots there are at each place who still haven’t been tested.’
I said goodbye to Daddy-T, and then went into the NVT office to write a short note to Lydia, telling her how grateful I was for her friendship when I first joined the Wrens and that I hoped that we would meet up again after the war.
When I arrived back at Woking that evening, my mother and Aunt Beth were sitting quietly in the drawing room enjoying a drink. I thanked them for all their efforts and told them it was now my turn to help with anything that still needed to be done. Aunt Beth immediately quipped, ‘Well you can top this glass up for a start!’
My mother told me that Pansy would be coming every day to help make the beds and clean the house while we had guests, and as Agnes had taken a week’s leave from her job at the ‘munitions’ factory to resume her work as our parlour maid, we had enough help in the house. However, Mrs Green would be very busy in the kitchen with all the extra mouths to feed, so she suggested that I could make myself useful by chopping up vegetables.
The next morning Jane arrived with two bulging suitcases. We were both excited to see each other again, as we hadn’t been able to for more than a year, and even though we had written to each other often, we still had a lot of catching up to do. As she unpacked, I thought that I had better start thinking about what clothes I was going to take on my honeymoon, and asked Jane about what I should wear in bed.
‘Nothing you silly cow, that’s the whole point!’ Jane shrieked, ‘you are so naïve, Mary, surely you know what goes on by now, or I should say in!’
‘Jane!’ I exclaimed, ‘you haven’t have you?’
‘Certainly not!’ she said, ‘but Bridget has, and she told me all about it, in some detail I might add.’
‘Well, you had better spill the beans then, as I haven’t a clue what I am supposed to do,’ I tittered.
‘I wonder if a man’s willy floats in the bath, or sinks?’ Jane asked.
‘I’ll send you a postcard when I find out,’ I promised. ‘No, seriously Jane, you are going to have to tell me everything Bridget told you, as I feel a bit embarrassed still not knowing anything about the birds and the bees at my age.’
So she told me all that Bridget had told her but I didn’t believe half of what she said, and hoped the other half wasn’t true, especially when she reminded me that a man’s willy was like a chipolata to start with and then turned into a German sausage!
After lunch Jane and I walked across the park to see Kay, and to check whether the pageboy clothes for Richard had been delivered. Kay said that she thought her son would think they were a bit sissy but was sure that she could persuade him to put up with looking like a girl for a day by bribing him with a Mars bar. However, trying to get Julie to dress more like a girl than a boy was going to be much more difficult, as my goddaughter was such a tomboy and hated wearing dresses.
After breakfast the next day, my father went to collect William from Charterhouse, where he was boarding. When they got home, I was amazed to see how tall and broad shouldered William had become since I last saw him.
‘What’s for lunch?’ he said as soon as he walked in the front door, which made me laugh. He may have got bigger but he was still the same little brother I knew and loved.
After lunch William told me that althou
gh he was pleased to have been asked to be Head usher, he wished our brother Peter could have been here to do it. I did too as I missed my big brother and wondered where he was right now.
My mother asked William if he would work out a bath rota, so that our houseguests wouldn’t have to form a queue all along the landing to the bathrooms. When I checked his list a bit later I noticed that he hadn’t put his own name down so asked him why, and he said, ‘I had a shower after games yesterday and that will do until I go back to school on Monday!’ I decided that if necessary, I would have to force my smelly little brother to have a bath the night before the wedding.
Agnes was just about to serve the soup that evening, when we heard the front door bell ring. My father asked her if she would see who was at the door while he attended to the soup. A few moments later she threw the dining room door open with a huge smile on her face and announced, ‘Lieutenant-Commander Ogal-Bee is here.’
I looked up from my soup and saw Duncan standing in the doorway. He was wearing his naval uniform, but it now had an extra half-stripe between the two wavy gold stripes, so I realised that he must have been promoted since I had last seen him. He apologised for arriving a day early and explained that his squadron had returned earlier than expected and that when he had gone home he had discovered that his parents were not at home, but were staying with his sister Janet. He had tried to telephone us several times but that the phone was always engaged, so he thought he might as well come straight here. My father stood up and shook his hand and said, ‘this is your second home now Duncan, so you are always welcome here at any time.’
I leapt up from the table and gave Duncan a hug but when he leant in for a kiss I only gave the poor man a peck on the cheek, as I felt a bit embarrassed kissing him with everyone now looking at us.
While my father introduced Duncan to William and Jane, Agnes quickly laid another place at the table and then hurried into the kitchen to warn Mrs Green that there was one extra for dinner. During the meal, my mother apologised that there was more bread than pork in the sausages but Duncan politely replied that after a month’s Navy rations they tasted delicious. Jane said nothing and simply stared at Duncan in awe but William kept petering him with endless questions, like what it was like to shoot down enemy planes and if he had he ever landed in the sea.