The Wartime Midwives

by Daisy Styles

  Robin stayed behind to help Sister Mary Paul muck out Big Ears’s stable, but Noel accompanied the girls, his carry-cot safely lodged in the back of the van while all the girls sat on the front seat.

  The journey over the fell roads on a cold, bright January morning was fun – the three of them never stopped laughing and chatting – but when the steep road dipped down into Windermere and Bowness came into view, they all caught their breath at the sight of the sun glinting on the lake where little boats skimmed across the tranquil water.

  ‘It’s hard to believe there’s a war on when you see beauty such as this,’ Gloria gasped.

  ‘How lucky are we?’ Emily murmured, as she watched puffy, white clouds drift across the mountains that tumbled down to surround the beautiful lake.

  ‘Yes,’ Ada agreed, as she slowed the car in order to take in the spectacular views. ‘Days like this are simply a gift from God.’

  Isla was delighted to see her friends.

  ‘I haven’t seen you two since I left Mary Vale,’ she cried, hugging Gloria and Emily. ‘Though I have seen Ada more recently, of course,’ she added with a smile, hugging Ada too.

  In the cosy sitting room, where Jeannie greeted them with coffee and home-made orange-rind-and-oatmeal biscuits, they gathered around the babies, whom Emily and Isla had laid side by side on a rug before the fire.

  ‘Heather’s grown!’ Ada exclaimed in delight. ‘She’s twice the size she was.’

  ‘She never stops feeding,’ Isla said proudly. ‘And look how strong Noel is,’ she cried, as she smiled at the little boy who, after Emily had changed his nappy, was happily wriggling his fat little legs.

  ‘How marvellous to see them both together,’ Jeannie said. ‘Only one more to make the picture complete,’ she added, smiling at Gloria’s bump. ‘Not long now, dear.’

  ‘And I know I’ll be in the safest pair of hands – Ada’s the best midwife in the whole of the North of England!’ Gloria enthused.

  ‘Get away with you!’ Ada laughed. ‘I’m second best after Sister Ann.’

  ‘So, come on, girls, tell me all your news – how’s Shirley? Robin? Sister Mary Paul? Sister Ann?’ Isla inquired excitedly.

  After Isla and Jeannie had been brought up to date with all the Mary Vale news, Emily told her own special news.

  Isla whooped in delight. ‘Wonderful!’ she cried, over the moon for her friend, who had been so worried about where she would go when she left Mary Vale.

  ‘What are George’s parents like?’ Jeannie asked curiously.

  Emily cocked her head sideways as she considered the question. ‘Bear in mind I’ve only met them twice,’ she started. ‘They seem kind and generous – not like my rotten family, who would kick me out, and Noel too. They don’t even know I’ve had a baby!’ she admitted. ‘I’ll have to tell them soon, before somebody else does, but, quite honestly, I don’t think it will be worth the effort; they won’t want to know,’ she concluded realistically.

  Isla gripped Emily’s hand. ‘Concentrate on the good news, lovie. George’s parents have given you and your baby a home, just like Jeannie did for me! We’re lucky,’ she added gratefully. ‘Now,’ she said with a nervous smile, ‘I’ve got some news too.’

  Her friends looked at her expectantly.

  ‘I’m keeping Heather,’ Isla announced.

  As a body, the three girls moved in to hug her.

  ‘I knew you would!’ Ada cried. ‘But you had to come to that decision in your own time.’

  ‘It didn’t take long,’ Jeannie chuckled. ‘I could see the bonding going on before my very eyes.’

  Isla gazed at her little daughter in adoration. ‘It was an agony parting with her, but I was sure it was the right thing to do, for her sake especially, but once I got home to Windermere all I could think of was Heather. Where was she? What was she doing? Who was feeding her? Who was rocking her to sleep? Then, when Ada came knocking on my door, just like Santa, she had a present for me.’ After laying a gentle kiss on Heather’s perfect cupid-bow lips, she continued. ‘She’s mine now, my perfect little treasure.’

  ‘I’m delighted for you, but I do have a question,’ Ada said with a smile. ‘You’re a clever girl, and you mustn’t forget your studies. Please don’t tell me you’re going to give them up, Isla?’

  ‘Not at all,’ Isla replied staunchly. ‘I’ve been looking into part-time courses close by.’

  ‘And I’m happy to babysit my granddaughter for as many hours as there are in the day,’ Jeannie told Isla’s friends. ‘Between us three strong women, we’ll get there!’ she said confidently.

  After a delicious lunch of rabbit pie, mashed potatoes and cabbage, the girls dragged themselves away from Isla, who stood in the doorway with Heather in her arms to wave them goodbye.

  ‘See you at the trial,’ she said a little anxiously.

  ‘If not before,’ Ada added, as she kissed Heather for the third time.

  ‘I’m quite looking forward to seeing those two wretches in the dock,’ Jeannie added with undisguised pleasure. ‘God knows, they deserve a severe judgement after what they’ve been up to.’

  Holding Heather in one arm, Isla put her free arm about Jeannie’s shoulder. ‘I’m going to have to keep my wild grandmother well away from Matron; otherwise she might be arrested too!’

  In the car going home, with the winter sun starting to sink low over the western fells, everybody agreed that Isla had made the right decision.

  ‘With a woman like Jeannie behind them, Isla will be fine – and so will Heather,’ Ada laughed.

  Thinking of George’s parents’ recent visit and the joy they had shared together that very special afternoon, Emily sighed. ‘It’s sad that Isla’s mother and father have turned their back on her.’

  ‘Their loss,’ said Ada. ‘I feel sorry for them, actually: they’re the ones who’ll live to regret their decision.’

  Not long after their visit to Isla, it was Gloria’s turn to go into labour, and it happened in the schoolroom. Mercifully, Shirley was there reading a story book about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table to Robin, who was sitting on her knee, pretending to be a knight riding his horse.

  ‘Gee up, horsy!’ he laughed.

  When Shirley looked up, she saw Gloria’s face suddenly twist in pain.

  ‘Gloria! What’s the matter?’

  Gloria shook her head, then nodded towards Robin.

  ‘Excuse me, I’ll just pop out for a minute or two.’

  Leaving Robin in Shirley’s good care, she hurried towards the ward, but had to stop on the way because of further pains shooting up her back. When she caught her breath, she located Ada, who was making notes in her office.

  ‘Morning, sunshine!’ Ada called as she walked in.

  ‘I think it’s started,’ Gloria announced. ‘Back pains and twinges down below, quite strong too.’

  Slipping into her relaxed professional mode, Ada gently guided her out of the office and on to the ward. ‘Let’s get you into bed, then I can see what’s happening myself,’ she said calmly.

  A few hours later, after a speedy but extremely painful delivery, Ada brought Gloria’s baby daughter into the world. And the first person to visit her (after Gloria had been tidied up and given a much-needed cup of tea) was of course Robin, who – escorted by Shirley – gazed in enchantment at the little baby in the cot beside his mother’s bed.

  ‘She’s pink!’ he announced. ‘And she’s got no hair.’

  Gloria held out her arms to her son. ‘She’s only just been born, sweetheart; she’ll change as she grows up.’

  ‘Can we call her Pinky?’ Robin asked in all seriousness.

  Seeing Ada and Shirley, at the end of the bed, struggling not to laugh, Gloria started to giggle. ‘I don’t think so, lovie. We’ll think of another name, I’m sure.’

  Gloria’s joy at the birth of her daughter was slightly marred in the days that followed her delivery when she simply couldn’t stop crying. ‘I feel so guil
ty loving her so much when her father’s not even seen her,’ she wept in Ada’s strong arms. ‘Oh, I wish he was here, I miss him so much.’

  Ada let her patient cry herself out, then spoke to her calmly and with complete professional confidence. ‘You know, lovie, this feeling of anticlimax is not uncommon in newly delivered mothers.’

  ‘I remember feeling a bit blue after Robin was born,’ Gloria admitted. ‘But Stan was there to pull me through. Now I feel so lonely and overwhelmed.’

  ‘We’re here, lovie, your friends in Mary Vale – all of us – we will help you through,’ Ada assured her. ‘Your body has had a huge upheaval – think about all the changes it’s gone through in the last nine months – and now you’ve produced a fine, healthy daughter. Give your body time to get back to normal,’ she advised. ‘Be patient with yourself.’

  Gloria nodded. ‘You’re wonderful, Ada, you make me feel calmer already,’ she whispered gratefully.

  ‘And I’m sure you’ll hear from Stan soon,’ Ada said with a hopeful smile.

  By sheer good luck, Ada turned out to be right: a letter arrived for Gloria while she was still on the post-natal ward. Ada couldn’t believe the timing of its arrival – God did indeed move in mysterious ways. Ada took the baby from her arms and handed her the letter.

  ‘We’ll leave you in peace for a few minutes,’ she said with an understanding smile.

  My darling wife,

  I think about you every hour, in fact, there’s hardly any time of the day and night when I’m not thinking of you! Your time must be coming by now, I do hope so for your sake, my darling. Oh, if only I knew how you were, my love! I feel so useless, so helpless, so far away and worried. The good news is, when I asked my senior officer for a short leave of absence to visit you, he agreed! So I’ll be coming home soon! Only for forty-eight hours, but that should give me enough time to get to Grange. I’ll walk there if I have to! Oh, my darling, write to me and tell me your news, give my love to Robin and the new baby – if he or she has arrived.

  Your loving husband,

  Stan

  When Ada returned to Gloria’s bedside, she found her patient lying back on her pillows with the most radiant smile on her glowing face.

  ‘He’s coming home,’ she cried, as she threw her arms high in the air. ‘My Stan’s coming to Mary Vale!’

  40. Tears and Joy

  When Robin found out that his daddy was coming home, he went wild with joy.

  ‘DADDY! DADDY!’ he cried, as he ran round the garden, where Shirley, who was taking his little sister for a walk in a pram, smiled in pleasure to see the boy so happy.

  ‘He’s obviously been missing his dad but kept it to himself, and now he can let it all out, brave little boy,’ she thought fondly.

  She herself had something to delight in too: that very morning, after the nuns had completed their morning office, Shirley (and her mentor, Sister Ann) had been called into the Reverend Mother’s office, where she had been told that her postulancy would officially begin.

  ‘You’ll be given a novice’s habit and a postulant’s veil – which is different to the ones worn by the community of nuns – when you join us in the convent,’ the Reverend Mother announced to Shirley, who had to stop herself from jumping up and down in gratitude. ‘At a later date, if you get through your postulancy, you’ll take your temporary vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.’

  With stars in her eyes, Shirley turned to the Reverend Mother. ‘Thank you for accepting me – God’s showing me the way,’ she said with an odd mixture of humility and supreme confidence. ‘I feel his love all around me every day.’

  After enjoying her walk with Robin and his sister, Shirley went in search of Emily, who was sorting out her belongings prior to leaving Mary Vale. Shirley’s little bubble of joy slightly deflated at the thought of saying goodbye to Emily, whom she loved like a sister. She was glad Emily and Noel had a comfortable home to go to, but she would miss her friend so much. When Shirley arrived in the bedroom, she found her friend lying on her bed with a letter in her hand. Seeing her, Emily leapt to her feet.

  ‘It’s from George!’ she cried, as she literally spun round the room like a dancer. ‘Can you believe it, I’ve finally heard from George! And he’s alive, he’s alive, he’s alive!’ she laughed joyfully. ‘Come on – let’s find Ada and Gloria,’ she cried, as she snatched up Shirley’s hand and ran out of the room.

  Once Emily had assembled all her friends in the empty dining room, Ada insisted that she sit down in one of the big old armchairs,

  ‘Rest, young lady,’ she said firmly. ‘You’ve only recently given birth.’

  Flopping down, Emily handed the letter to Ada. ‘Please read it: I’m completely out of breath.’

  My dearest darling sweetest Emily,

  I have only just received your many precious letters and my heart is bursting with love for you, and guilt too, that I left you alone for so long. God only knows how much you must have suffered – and my poor parents too.

  ‘But you weren’t alone,’ Shirley said sweetly. ‘You had us!’

  ‘Shhh!’ Gloria flapped. ‘Go on!’

  How are you, my darling girl, and how is my son, Noel? I love him so very much already – my parents tell me he is the image of me, but I want him to have your beautiful face and laughing eyes and your cute dimples too!

  I can tell you only a little of what’s been going on. The fact is my squadron have been involved in a top-secret mission for months now, hence all the secrecy about my whereabouts. It’s still ongoing but nothing like as perilous as it was when we were first posted overseas. I’m sorry, my dearest, I can’t divulge any more information than that, but rest assured that if I had got your letters sooner, I would have moved heaven and earth to write back to you. I’m so sorry that I couldn’t.

  In our present posting we’ve finally been allowed to receive mail; I have a large pile from you, and some from my parents too. I don’t think I will ever forgive myself for putting you all through such anguish but, really, we had no choice. Now, while the situation is a bit less tense, we’re allowed to write home, and we can receive letters too. Write to me, my darling, and I beg you to send a photograph of you and my baby boy.

  Blast! The hooters just sounded out, duty calls.

  I love you more than words can say …

  Ada stopped there and discreetly handed the letter back to Emily. ‘The rest is private,’ she giggled.

  Emily clutched the letter, which she kissed over and over again. ‘Ada,’ she begged, ‘please may I use your office phone to call George’s parents? I want to tell them the good news right away! They’ve probably had a letter too, but just in case …’ she cried.

  ‘Of course I’ll come with you,’ Ada immediately agreed.

  Skipping out of the room like a child, Emily all but ran on to the ward and into Ada’s office, where she talked for half an hour to George’s parents.

  ‘Oh, thank God,’ Mrs Holden said, and, relieved beyond words that her son was well, she burst into tears.

  ‘You’re bound to get a letter soon,’ Emily assured them; then, after all the wild, joyful excitement, she burst into floods of tears too.

  ‘I’m so, so, so happy,’ she sobbed.

  ‘Come to us soon,’ Mrs Holden implored. ‘You make us so happy, Emily.’

  ‘And we miss little Noel too,’ Mr Holden admitted.

  ‘I promise we’ll both be with you very soon,’ Emily vowed.

  After finishing the conversation, a beaming Emily turned to Ada. ‘You know what?’ she said with tears of happiness brimming in her big blues eyes, ‘Noel and I are needed elsewhere – the time has come to say goodbye.’

  When Reggie and Margaret arrived at Mary Vale a few days later, a great many tears were shed. As Reggie and Margaret packed Emily’s luggage and popped Noel in a new carry-cot into their car, Emily turned to her friends, who had gathered to say their goodbyes. Seeing the smiling, familiar faces of Ada, Shirley, Gloria, Robin, M
ary Paul and Sister Ann, Emily almost broke down.

  ‘Oh, God, I’ll miss you!’ she cried, as she buried her face against Ada’s shoulder.

  Determined not to get over-emotional (though, in truth, she felt it), Ada answered in a clear firm voice. ‘We’ll miss you too, lovie, but we won’t lose touch – we’ll write, and you’ll visit us. Tell us you will.’

  ‘Oh, I will!’ Emily replied. ‘Goodbye,’ she cried, as she clung to each of her friends in turn, but when she reached Gloria her resolve broke down completely.

  Taking her cue from Ada, Gloria did her best to stay strong too. ‘I’ll come and see you just as soon as I can,’ she assured weeping Emily.

  ‘And me too,’ a little voice at her side chipped in. ‘And Merry Paul and Big Ears if you like?’

  ‘Heavens above!’ the nun joked. ‘The little lad will have the lot of us in the car if you’re not careful.’

  As laughter spread among the group, Emily cuddled sweet little Robin, then climbed into the back seat. Waving and blowing kisses to her friends, she was driven away by Reggie and Margaret to a new life with her son in Chester.

  In truth, Mary Vale felt empty without Emily – her larger-than-life personality, her ready laugh, her strong opinions and her straight talking were much missed by her friends – but, as ever, life at Mary Vale continued at its own hectic pace, which was heightened considerably only a few days later by Stan’s arrival. Walking up the leafy path from Kents Bank Station with his rucksack slung over his shoulder, the first thing he heard was a high-pitched, squeaky voice.

  ‘Bomber attack!’ followed by the improvised sound of an engine. ‘Brrrrrrrrrrr!’

  Hiding behind a tree trunk, Stan waited for his son to flash by, then he joined in the game too.

  ‘Enemy fire – brrrrrrrr!’ he went, but in a deep, growly voice.

  Startled, Robin whirled around then – saw his dad – and ran straight into his wide-open arms.

  ‘Daddy! Daddy!’ he cried rapturously.

  ‘Robin, my boy,’ Stan murmured as he pressed his son’s warm little body close to his heart.