Always in My Heart (17 page)

‘I don’t want to go,’ sobbed Jane as she flung herself
against Jock. ‘Please don’t make me go, Daddy.’

He gave a groan of despair and held Jane close. ‘You’ll be safe with Sarah,’ he crooned. ‘Please don’t cry, Jane. I hate to see you cry.’

The shrill command of the ship’s siren stilled them all, and beneath that screaming warning they could hear the distant hum that could only mean the impending arrival of enemy aircraft.

‘Get on board quickly,’ said Jock, wresting Jane’s clutching hands from around his neck and nudging them both forward.

As Sarah grabbed Jane’s hand, she was almost knocked flying by a distraught woman carrying a young baby. Managing to just about keep on her feet, but losing her hat in the process, she took a tight hold on Jane and her suitcase as the crowd surged in panic towards the gangway.

The Japanese planes screamed overhead, dropping bombs which exploded in the sea, missing the ships by a hair’s breadth. The guns from the anchored ships and the batteries in the port blasted out, and the quayside shuddered beneath their feet.

People were screaming now, pushing, shoving, fighting to get on board the ship. Some fell in the murky water of the harbour while others attempted to scramble up the ropes which tethered the
Monarch
to the pier. Hats and suitcases fell into the water, and sailors reached to help the terrified women who stumbled up the iron steps with their children clinging to their skirts. And on the dockside, the military policemen
wrestled several men away who’d been trying to get on board.

‘The planes are turning,’ someone shouted. ‘They’re coming back.’

Sarah didn’t need to urge Jane to hurry, for they were being swept along in the mad rush to get on deck. And as they gained the top of the gangway, they felt the shudder of the ship’s guns reverberate in the deck beneath them as salvo after salvo was fired at the enemy. Crouching on the deck in terror, they huddled together as the bullets zipped past them and the roar of the planes competed with the thud and boom of the big guns.

More guns continued to blaze around the harbour and from the other ships that were anchored nearby, and a great cheer went up as one of the fleeing enemy planes took a direct hit and plummeted into the water in a ball of flames.

Once the enemy planes had gone, and it was deemed safe, everyone slowly got to their feet and stood in dazed silence, seemingly incapable of doing anything in the aftermath of that surprise attack.

Sarah finally pulled herself together and led the way to the next deck and found a gap for her and Jane by the railings. They were high above the quay and the people below swarmed like insects as yet more women and children came on board – and in the distance she could see the remains of the oil refinery tanks that were still burning, and the skeletons of ruined buildings.

‘I can’t see Daddy,’ said Jane, her voice high-pitched with fear. ‘Where is he?’

Sarah couldn’t see him either. There were too many people moving about and the smoke from all the fires was too thick. And then she spotted the lone figure waving at the end of the pier where the stevedores were already untying the ropes from the capstans and flinging them towards the sailors on board several decks below.

‘There!’ she said excitedly. ‘Down there!’

They waved to him, the tears streaming down their faces as they called down to him, and he waved back. But they couldn’t hear what he was saying, for the three sharp blasts from the ship’s hooter drowned out everything.

The ship gave an almighty lurch and began to pull away from the wharf.

Sarah and Jane leaned precariously over the rails to keep him in sight for as long as they could – and then Sarah saw a truck come hurtling down the pier, scattering dock workers and sailors before screeching to a halt beside Jock.

The driver leaped out and stared up, following Jock’s pointing finger until his gaze found Sarah’s.

‘Philip,’ she screamed as the tears flowed and she waved frantically. ‘Oh, Philip, thank God you’re safe. I love you, darling,’ she sobbed. ‘I love you so much.’

She watched through her tears as he shouted something back, but it was impossible to hear anything, and the ship was moving further and further from the
dock. She kept waving until the
Monarch of the Glen
swung towards the harbour entrance and they were both lost from sight.

God keep you all safe
, Sarah prayed silently as she and Jane clung to one another tearfully and watched the shores of their homeland slip out of sight. It could be months, maybe years, before she saw Philip or her parents again, but they would always be in her heart, no matter how far apart they were.

Almost two weeks had passed since Peggy had spoken to Anthony, and so far they hadn’t heard back from him. Peggy kept a close eye on Cordelia, for as the situation in the Far East worsened, she seemed to lose her spirits, and it was important to keep her busy and uplifted while they waited for news from Anthony.

It wasn’t quite six in the morning and Jim was still snoring in bed, enjoying the luxury of his one day off from the hated factory. Peggy had dressed in the dark as the north wind howled around the house and rattled the windows, and then quickly bathed and fed Daisy in the kitchen before tucking her warmly into the pram. It was far too cold to put her outside, but perhaps if the wind dropped and the sun came out, she could take her for a bit of a walk later so they could both get some fresh air.

The house was quiet and she tiptoed across the hall to fetch the newspaper from the letter box and the milk from the doorstep. It was bitterly cold still, and she shivered as she closed the door and went back to the warmth of the kitchen to drink a cup of very weak
tea and scan the newspaper headlines. Apart from the Russian victory over the Germans, there was very little to be cheerful about.

Soap was to be rationed, dried fruit would be in very short supply now that Greece had fallen, and North Africa was in turmoil. Australia was bracing itself for invasion as the Japanese continued their onslaught in Malaya, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Several British ships had been sunk in the Channel, Hitler was still threatening to invade, and the heroes of Bomber Command were suffering even heavier losses than their comrades in the other squadrons.

Peggy reached into her apron pocket for her packet of Park Drive and lit one. The sooner the Americans managed to replace the ships and planes they’d lost at Pearl Harbor, the sooner they could help the beleaguered Allies in the Pacific. It was all very distressing.

‘To be sure you’ll not be wanting to read all that,’ said Ron as he stumped up the steps with Harvey at his heels. ‘’Tis depressing, so it is, and there’s nothing you can do about it but carry on as usual.’ He carefully placed the little basket of eggs on the table beside her and reached into the pocket of his coat. ‘Alf sends his regards,’ he said with a wink as he laid the package next to the eggs.

Peggy carefully unfolded the newspaper and gasped. ‘Bacon?’ she breathed. ‘And so much of it! How on earth—?’

‘Ask no questions, and I’ll tell ye no lies,’ he
interrupted, tapping the side of his nose.

She eyed him sharply as she puffed on her cigarette. ‘Have you been poaching again?’

He took off his coat and slung it over the back of a chair. ‘Now, Peg,’ he replied, ‘how on earth would I be doing such a thing when the Cliffe estate has a fence around it the height of a mountain?’

‘Wire-cutters,’ she replied dryly. ‘I saw you put them in your pocket the other day and wondered what you were up to.’

His blue eyes twinkled. ‘To be sure, Peggy girl, it is suspicious you are. Can you not trust a poor auld man who only has the welfare of his family at heart?’

Peggy giggled. ‘You’re a rogue, and I would trust you with my life, Ronan Reilly, but you and Alf will get caught one day and end up in prison.’

Breakfast was a banquet that morning, the smell of sizzling bacon wafting through the house to lure everyone out of their beds and into the kitchen. Harvey left his post by the side of the pram and sat hopefully at Ron’s knee – but there were no scraps this morning.

They ate the freshly laid eggs with their dark yellow yolks and the crisp bacon and fried bread in an almost reverent silence, mopping up the remains with fingers of more bread and finally pushing their plates away with sighs of pleasure and regret that the meal was over.

Peggy took pity on Harvey and gave him some extra dog biscuits. Then she and the three girls washed the dishes and tidied the kitchen while Cordelia made
a fresh pot of tea, and the men went off to prepare for a bitterly cold day at sea. They were meeting Frank in Tamarisk Bay, which was just around the headland to the east of Cliffehaven, and were taking one of the fishing boats out to try and catch their supper.

‘You be careful out there,’ said Peggy as she wrapped a thick woollen scarf round Jim’s neck and pulled a woolly hat over his ears.

‘Ach, will you stop fussing,’ he said before sweeping her into his arms and giving her a resounding kiss. ‘We’ll be back before you know it with enough fish for Mrs Finch to make one of her special pies.’

Peggy became flustered as she always did when Jim kissed her like that. ‘Be off with you,’ she said, playfully swiping him with the tea towel, ‘and send my love to Pauline. Tell her I’ll try and get over there as soon as the weather takes a turn for the better.’

Jim rolled his eyes and pulled on his gloves. ‘To be sure Frank’s wife could always come here,’ he muttered as he peeked into the pram and adjusted the blanket under his daughter’s chin. ‘It isn’t as if you don’t have enough to do without traipsing all the way to Tamarisk Bay.’

Peggy nudged him away from the pram before he could wake Daisy. ‘Leave her be, Jim,’ she said wearily. ‘You’ll have plenty of time to play with her when you come home.’

Ron and Jim clumped down the steps, Harvey barking excitedly at their heels as they strode along the path and through the back gate. It was a long walk
over the hills to the next bay, and Peggy hoped their trip was worth all the trouble. But then it was good for Ron to spend a day with his sons – and good for Jim and Frank, who’d finally settled their differences and were beginning to be real brothers again.

As Fran left to go on duty at the hospital and Rita departed on her noisy motorbike for the fire station, Peggy and Cordelia settled down to their cups of tea while they made a shopping list. The queues outside the shops started early, and most of the time Peggy didn’t even know what she was actually queuing for – but a line of women waiting outside in the cold or wet meant something was on offer, and if it wasn’t needed, it could always be swapped for something else later on.

Suzy came back downstairs some time later, looking very smart in a tweed skirt, blouse and cardigan. ‘I’ve decided to treat myself to a shampoo and set,’ she told them as she pulled on her coat and headscarf. ‘And then I’m going to meet Sally Hicks at the little tea room opposite the hospital and have a coffee and teacake to celebrate.’

‘My goodness,’ said Cordelia, ‘you are spoiling yourself today. What’s the occasion?’

Suzy shrugged. ‘Nothing really,’ she replied as she tugged on her gloves. ‘We’ve been so busy at the hospital that I never seem to be out of uniform. I just want to feel like a girl again, that’s all. And Sally feels the same now she’s got the baby.’

Peggy smiled. Sally and her crippled brother Ernie
had come from the East End slums of London to be her first evacuees, and they had become an intrinsic part of the Reilly family. So much so, that when Sally’s aunt had taken Ernie into her home in Somerset for the duration, she had also taken the two Reilly boys, and had even agreed to Anne going down there with Rose Margaret. Sally had married the Fire Chief, John Hicks, and six months ago she’d presented him with a healthy son.

‘It won’t be much of an outing if Sal’s taking Daniel with her. She can bring him round here if she likes. I’ll look after him.’

Suzy smiled. ‘Bless you, Peg, but John’s doing babysitting duties today. Though I don’t think he quite realises what a handful his Danny can be.’

Peggy chuckled. Danny was a large, robust baby who was into everything now he could crawl, and had a fierce temper when thwarted. ‘It won’t do John any harm,’ she said comfortably. ‘Go and have fun, Suzy. You and Sal deserve it.’

Half an hour later Peggy was standing in a queue outside the grocer’s. There were equally long lines outside the butcher’s and baker’s as well, and as the wind tugged at their headscarves and chilled their faces, the women exchanged the latest gossip, cooed over babies and moaned about the rationing and the weather. Queuing had become quite a social occasion, and today the talk was all about the Americans who were due to arrive in England within the next two months.

It was almost an hour before Peggy arrived at the counter to purchase her ration of the newly delivered packets of tea, but during that time she’d managed to swap some of her powdered milk tokens for tins of spam, and her egg tokens for sugar. The butter, milk and cheese ration was quite generous as she had special catering coupons as well as the extra ones the government gave her as a nursing mother, so all in all, she felt quite privileged.

With her string shopping bag tucked away beneath the pram, she strolled along Camden Road and joined the queue at the bakery. White bread was becoming more and more scarce, but the rather tough brown loaves were better than nothing, and when she saw some little iced buns she splashed out and bought seven so that everyone could have a treat after their tea.

Feeling quite heroic after all this effort, she wheeled the pram further down the road and stood in line outside the butcher’s. Alf was behind the counter as always. He was a big, red-faced man with a loud laugh and a generous heart, and would often add scraps of mince or a pork chop to the parcel of someone he thought deserved it.

She eventually got to the counter and smiled up at him. ‘I just need nine sausages and a packet of lard today, Alf. We had a lovely breakfast this morning, so they won’t need much tonight.’