Here goes.
Eddie was stationed in England during WW2 and was stationed near where I lived in fact there were about 8 air bases within 12 miles,it was all B17 bomber groups.I was dating another GI but he had a bad reaction to a tetanus shot and was in sick bay for a couple of weeks, now I stayed true blue because at the tender age of 17 I thought I was in love. I had stayed home for about 10 whole days and during that time it seemed like eternity . One night some of my girl friends insisted that I should go to the dance with them because it was rumoured that Clarke Gable would be there he was stationed close by. So after some arm twisting I decided to go along.

Now I must explain that in England we young girls would go to the dances unescorted because there was always some adults there who knew most of us, it was a town where everybody knew everybody, so we were well chaperoned {DARN}. When we arrived at the dance a friend of mine brought Eddie over and introduced him to me telling him that I was her sister. I do not and did not have any sisters, this was a friend as I stated but not a best friend, there is a difference, ha Eddie asked me to dance with him and he seemed very nice so I consented but my heart was still yearning for my boy friend who as I said was sick.

I decided right off the bat I would tell Eddie about Earl yes, I still remember his name. Eddie was very understanding. I know this seems drawn out but I am trying to be as brief as possible. After the dance Eddie asked if he could walk me home and I said yes mostly to spite the girl who had introduced me to him, (NOT VERY NICE} of me but oh well I was young.

It was blackout in England during the war and that night it seemed extremely dark. I also forgot to mention Eddie behaved like a gentleman so I had no fear of him walking me home. The only fear was if my father found out, because one time before when a young GI walked me home he was not sure where I lived because of the blackout and went to a couple of neighbours homes asking if Hilda lived there and when my father found out he was very annoyed with me and told me he was not going to have half the American air force looking for his daughter, he also thought I was too young to date, so instead of having Eddie walk me to my home I took him to the wrong house. It was around the corner from where I lived and remember it was dark.

Eddie asked me if I would go to the movie with him on the Monday night. I did not mention this was Saturday and I said I would and honestly I had no intention of seeing him again as I was thinking of my own true love!!!!!! And just did not want to seem mean, Eddie asked if he could kiss me goodnight this was a surprise because most of the young men at that time took it for granted that they could without even asking and this was always a put off, as I said was surprised and said he could kiss me but just on the cheek and he did just that. I bade him goodnight and as soon as he was gone I allowed a few minutes and then went back to my own home and went to bed. I did not think about him all week end as I said I did not intend to see him again. Should I continue?

Well if you insist. Monday came and that night I was with my special girlfriend, we were riding our bicycles on our way to meet her boy friend and as we were riding down the street, I should mention it was still daylight, I saw someone riding his bike on the other side of the street coming towards us. I realized it was Eddie, I quickly told my friend to say we were on our way to the movies to meet him, as we were going to meet her friend there so we went along and met Ralph, my friend's friend, this is getting ridiculous it`s like writing a novel . Instead of going to the movies we rode to a small village went into a beautiful little church and walked around talking, all the time I am feeling guilty about having lied to Eddie and being untrue to my boy friend. We stopped for a few minutes to rest and there was an old turnstile there and I proceeded to sit down and the darn thing was broken and I fell over backwards. I might mention women did not wear pants I said pants (not panties) unless they were in the forces or the land army. Was I ever embarrassed, needless to say Eddie found out that night that I had taken him to the wrong house, had no sister and was not really going to see him again. He told me he had gone back to the barracks that Saturday night and told his friends had met the girl he was going to marry and by golly he did. Hope if you read all this it did not bore you. There was actually a lot more but I did try to shorten my story.

Soon after we met, Eddie was transferred to Beccles Nr Norwich on the East coast. As for Earl when he was released from the hospital and found out I had seen Eddie and played cards with him and my friends, he got very jealous and suggested it was more than mere friendship. That was it for me for I would have never lied to him and at that time I considered Eddie just a friend, so we parted ways. After we had corresponded for awhile Eddie asked me to marry him. He said he had fallen in love the first night he met me. I decided that I was in love with him and said yes.

Soon after we decided we to get married Eddie was transferred from Deenthorpe air base in the midlands to Beccles, Norfolk on the east coast of England, which is about 300 miles by train. After Eddie got there he applied for permission to get married. We had only known each other about three months so it was very hard on us being separated this way and we kept our romance alive by writing letters. Eddie only had three passes making it impossible for us to see each other for a short time. During this separation I had some doubt about getting married and leaving my family to go to America, but then when I did see Eddie I realized that I loved him and all my doubts vanished.

I was working for ARP headquarters (Air Raid Precautions), my job consisted of plotting enemy planes over England and notifying towns they were approaching to warn people in time to get in their air raid shelters. We were also responsible for knowing the location of our local fire engines, ambulances, etc. Also all the American Air Bases in our area had to report to us. This was good for it made me available to a phone (unauthorized of course) but made it possible for Eddie to call me on Thursday October 12th telling me that he had received permission for us to get married and had a 24 hour pass starting October 17th. And that he was going to be sent back to the states soon. He thought it would be better for me to get to the states as his wife.

Now this all sounds well and good but first I had to get permission from my parents since I was only 18 and as most of you know you had to be 21 to get married at that time. Then there was the Church and getting permission from them as I was Catholic and Eddie was not. Also I was going to have to get married in Beccles. Eddie was unable to leave the area since his group was on standby alert for transfer back to the states.

My parents gave permission and we decided I would leave on Friday 13th to go to Beccles to see if it was possible for the priest to marry us in the church there. I had an older friend who went with me as my chaperone for my parents would not allow me to travel all that way by myself. My father could not get away from work with such short notice and my mother could not go because of my two younger brothers. This sounds so simple but those of you who can recall traveling in those days it was not the easiest thing to do. The trains were always full because of troop movements and never on time and also I had never been to that part of England. First, we had to go to London and from there to Beccles having to go from one station to another in London and then change again in Ipswich, still sounds simple doesn`t it. Somehow we managed to find our way across London, now I can not even remember which stations we had to leave from. Then lo and behold we made a mistake and got off the train in Norwich instead Ipswich. We had to wait till the next morning to get a train from there to go on to Beccles. In the meantime I had to get word to Eddie about our situation and I was able to get through to his base as I had the number to it, I had to do a lot of explaining but they said they would notify him which they did.

Oh what an experience that was spending a night in a small railway station with very few seats and lots of people. There was one very inebriated soldier who insisted playing his bagpipes, we were all so tired and the wailing of bagpipes was not soothing to our ears (I know why they used them a lot in wartime for they bring out the fighting spirits in the meekest of us all). Finally our piper had to go to the rest room oh what a reprieve from the noise. When he returned to his friend he seemed and looked distraught and was heard him say, putting this in as delicate terms as possible "I lost me bl-dy teeth down the toilet (only he did not use the word toilet, I will leave this to your imagination and most of you have good ones ) We thought at last we would have some peace but this was not to be. Remember this was wartime and this was Norwich. Soon we heard the eerie sounds of the sirens and before long the air raid wardens came along and insisted on taking us to air raid shelters. Unfortunately I was wearing a new light coloured coat which had taken 14 of my precious clothing coupons and everyone was pushing and shoving. I was more concerned about getting my coat dirty than about the bombing (ah sweet youth) guess I thought I was immortal.

After surviving the night in the shelter singing all the favourite war songs we finally got on the train to Beccles. By this time I looked so bedraggled after all our experiences I thought Eddie might change his mind. When he saw me but he was true blue, bless his heart. My chaperone was absolutely worn out and I was busy taking care of her.

We first went to the church and in a very short time found out that it would be impossible to get married without permission of the bishop which would take too long due to the time constraints we were under. Eddie suggested getting married by a justice of the peace which to me was almost unheard of and then there was my parents to consider but this seemed to be the only plausible thing to do. Wouldn`t it have been so simple to get married this way but no I had to have written parental consent or a parent had to be there. Knowing my parents like I did I felt that I could convince them, so we went to the justice of the peace in the village and made arrangements to be married the following Tuesday, October 17th.

We went out and had a bite to eat and then back to the train station where we were able to get a train back home, no mistakes this time. My father and mother did consent with the understanding that we get married in church after I got to America.

On Monday the 16th, my father accompanied me back to Beccles where Eddie met us. He had made arrangements for overnight accommodations for my father and I. The next morning we had breakfast and then on to the justice of peace office where we met two of Eddie's friends who acted as witnesses. It was all over in about five minutes, oh what a wedding. I will never forget . We then took my father to catch his train where we said our goodbyes to him. We went to the house where Eddie had rented a room for us and the lady had fixed some sandwiches and cake and after that we went for a walk along the river. And this ladies and gentlemen was our wedding day as we remember it 58 years later.

There is more to follow for those who are interested.

Here is some more of my story which happened in England in WW2. We did try to live a life during the war and this is my true story, if anyone is not interested just click on by.

After our wedding day which we described to you in detail, we were ready to settle down and really get to know each other. We had not been together enough to make any plans for our future, due to circumstances beyond our control (like a war). Oh, how we dreamed of a perfect life as all young couples do, the things we would do. The places we would visit, what kind of a home we would have, how many children (two would be ideal). Eddie was going into the restaurant business with his father and I would take care of home and family, we worked it all out.

The main thing in the back of our minds was the fact that we would have to be apart for awhile as the rumours persisted that Eddies group was going to be sent back to the states to prepare to go to the South Pacific, which was a possibility. We tried to think positive and Eddie would sneak off the base every night to be with me. He had arranged with his friends for them to get word to him if the order came at short notice for them to ship out. We did not live too far from the base. The men had figured out a way to get off base undetected (they thought). They called it the Burma Road which was a short cut through some unsuspecting farmer's field. The M.Ps. knew all about it as they used it themselves when they were off duty.

It was funny one morning when Eddie arrived back to the Quonset hut where he was billeted, there was a mother cat that had just given birth to her kittens on his cot. Oh, what a surprise that was for him. He and his buddies found a box and made a comfortable home for mother and kittens. I bet these were the best fed cats in England as all the boys would give them food. Later we found someone in the village who took them and promised to find a good home for mom and babies.

During our first weeks of marriage Eddie and I were so happy, I felt so secure even though I missed my family. He would console me when the thought of being separated was almost unbearable. Soon I discovered that I was pregnant which had not been in our immediate plans but we were not as sophisticated as the young people of today. Come to think of it we were naïve for many years as we did have six children and love them all. But back to first child we knew that Eddie would not be there when she was born for we knew he would be leaving England soon. Thank God that I had a loving family and would have mother and father with me, but oh how I wished that Eddie could be with me for the birth of our first child. We were not the only ones who had to face this ordeal for there were many others in the same situation, after all this was wartime.

Everyday Eddie and I thought this might be the last time we would see each other until the war ended. We treasured each precious moment together and I thought my heart would break when the time came for him to leave. I had grown to love him so much and I knew this love was returned. We knew we were truly in love and that we were meant to be together. This love has lasted all these years.

I had meant to write a different story, a funny one which I will write in the future, but memories just kept creeping into my mind of those early days of our marriage. The little village where we lived, the quiet walks in the woods even though the weather was very cold and the things we talked about. The old donkey in a field near where we lived, we would often take a potato or a carrot for him. He seemed to know when we were approaching as he would let the loudest neighing, we felt he got to know us and of course he enjoyed being fed. I guess this might seem foolish but these were some of my fondest moments such simple things but such vivid and happy ones.

I am almost through with this part of my story but another memory which is so funny happened at night time (don't get the wrong idea I am not about to reveal any intimate details about our love life) . It was so cold at night that the lady we rented from would fix a hot water bottle made out of crockery which was very heavy when filled with hot water. She said this would ward off chills. It was so kind of her as our feet would be freezing and it was no fun getting into a cold bed. Remember there was a shortage of coal for heating the homes. Coal, coke, electricity and gas were all rationed. We could not buy extra blankets or warmer night clothes. I remember putting Eddie's heavy coat across the bed to help keep us warm. Remember the old song "I've got my love to keep me warm" well even that did not work (G) I have strayed from the funny part. I do not think they made beds as long back then because Eddie was nearly six feet tall and it seemed that almost every night when he stretched his legs he managed to push the hot water bottle out of the bed and it hit the floor with a big bang. If anyone was downstairs at the time they would think a bomb had dropped. Eddie and I could hardly contain our laughter!! Oh but these were wonderful times. If you have read all this I hope you can understand why I remember all these memories.

I really do have a follow up and promise it is very different although it ties in with all these fond memories of so long ago.

Trip home with cases

Christmas was fast approaching and the rumours were flying that Eddie's group would be back in the States for Christmas. We were both feeling very unhappy at the thought of not being together for our first Christmas. It was a sad time for us. In early December the group was told to prepare to leave at a moments notice. All the airmen had thier things packed and most were happy at the thought of being home for Christmas. I told my parents that I would probably be home for Christmas due to this. One day Eddie came home and gave me the biggest hug that took my breath away and he was smiling and told me he had a wonderful surprise for me. He then told me that Lt. Miller had called him in and asked if he would like to stay in England a little longer since we had been married such a short time and he could arrange to transfer Eddie to another unit that would be there a little longer, naturally Eddie said YES!! Oh what a wonderful surprise that was for me.

When Eddies buddies heard the news they were happy for him and by now they had started receiving Christmas packages from their families back home, cookies, canned hams, home baked fruit cakes, candies and even an electric iron with step down transformer ( 220 volts down to 110 volts) and so many other things we can`t remember. So many of these things could not be taken back because of the weight constraints. Many of the boys put these packages on Eddies bunk to bring home to me. I was so thrilled and decided to go visit my family before Christmas and wanted to surprise them with all of the food, etc. so much of which they had not had during the war, I was so excited. Eddie could not make the trip with me because of his pending transfer to a nearby base.

I filled two extra large suite cases barely having enough room for my clothes and each weighed about as much as I did . I made arrangements for train tickets leaving Beccles on December 19th and returning on the 23 so I could be with Eddie for Christmas. I did not let my family know I was coming for I really did want to surprise them (BIG MISTAKE).

Eddie helped me get to the train and seated in the compartment, putting my bags in the luggage compartment. I had not given any thought to how the trains were always running late and about having to change trains in Ipswich and also London or about how heavy these cases were. Ipswich was no trouble but London was a different matter, fortunately there were two RAF airmen who were going to Scotland and would be taking the same train as I. They graciously offered to help me carry the luggage to the other station "Thank God for that".

As usual the trains were late so this made me arrive home after the station was closed and the last bus had left, no phones around or no cabs during the war because of the gasoline shortage. Here I was pregnant all alone freezing and had 5 miles to get home and I had not told my family I was coming with no way to contact them and it was pitch black, oh what a dilemma. I could not leave my luggage at the station for it would surely have been stolen in the early morning light, so what to do. Well I will tell you what I did. I took one case and carried it as far as I could and sat on it for a few minutes then felt my way back for the other case. I did this the whole five miles and got to my home at 4:30 AM as dawn was just breaking. I knocked on the door and I heard my father coming down the stairs and when he opened the door I never saw anyone look so surprised in all my life. When I explained what had happened, boy did I ever get a lecture, why didn`t you let us know you were coming, you silly little b----r. My father was not inclined to use bad language but he was so concerned about me, I was so tired and cold and was still his little girl . Soon my mother was downstairs and also my two little brothers. Oh what a joyful reunion. My mother made hot tea and my father made a fire in the fireplace, since there was no central heat at that time.

I will never be able to explain the joy on my brothers faces when they saw all the candy and other goodies, my mother and father actually had tears in their eyes for they had not seen so much food for such long a long time.

They were disappointed that I would not be with them for Christmas but yet they were happy that Eddie and I could be together for our first Christmas. Needless to say, I took the earliest train for my return to be with Eddie and left one case behind. We had made plans to meet at the station on my arrival and as usual the train was late and it was very foggy as I got off the train I could hardly see and I bumped into someone and would you believe, it was Eddie, oh how wonderful it was to be back with him again.

While I was visiting my family Eddie became acquainted with another airman and his wife, who had also been married a short time. They were looking for a place to live in Beccles nearer the base. Our landlady had a guest room so Eddie talked with her explaining that they needed a place to live for a short time. She very gracious and consented to rent the room to them. I got to meet them that night after returning from Corby and we hit it right off the bat. Jim and Frieda were a very nice couple. Our landlady, Mrs. Bedwell was going to visit her daughter for Christmas so the four of us had full use of the house while she was gone. Remember it was Christmas time and Frieda and I had only a day to plan a Christmas meal. Somehow Frieda had acquired a plum pudding and we were going to make a custard to go with it. We knew that Mrs. Bedwell kept a bottle of scotch whiskey in pantry for her nightly toddy. We thought she would not miss it if we took a little for the custard, as we were making the custard we decided it did not taste exactly right so we kept adding a little bit more whiskey until it tasted fairly good. We felt a little guilty on looking at the whiskey bottle and decided to add a little water so she would not notice any of her whiskey was missing. This was not very nice and I have often thought that this was a mean thing we did. But we were young and this our first Christmas dinner with our husbands. You know I can`t remember what else we had except the pudding and Custard.

Eddie and Jim did get her a bottle of whiskey and gave it to her for New Years. We don`t think she ever noticed anything amiss with her whiskey but we felt better about it.

Frieda and I were good company for each other while Eddie and Jim were at the base. Oh, I forgot to mention she was also pregnant, there must have been something in the water in Beccles . We became very good friends and were able to boost each others morale as we knew that at any time our husbands would be going back to the states. Eddie did get a pass and we were able to visit my parents in February.

Now here comes another funny story, while visiting my parents a neighbor, Vera came for a cup of tea. After a nice conversation Vera decided she needed to leave and as she was going out the door she stuck her head back in and said to my father, "Would you mind knocking me up in the morning Joe (my fathers name)". My father replied that he would be glad too. I happened to glance at Eddie and he looked kind of funny. When my father went into the kitchen to help my mother. I asked Eddie if something was wrong and he said "I can`t believe your father would ever say anything like that" like what I asked. He answered, he just told Vera he was going to knock her up in the morning. What`s wrong with that, I replied. He knocks her up nearly every work morning. She sometimes has a hard time waking up and my father just stops by and knocks on her door. Nearly all the houses here have big knockers and nieghbours often wake each other up this way. Eddie started to laugh, Hilda he said never ever ask anyone to knock you up when you come to the states. He then explained to me what knocking up meant in America, whew am I ever glad I found out about that or I could have got in big trouble.

We returned to Beccles and everyday we thought it would be the last together as rumours were flying that preparations were speeding up and the boys would soon be sent backed to the States. Freida and I were very upset and cried a lot. It was in May and one day the boys did not return home and soon word got to us that they had been shipped out and we had not even got to say good bye. That was one of the worst times of my life. If only we could have held each other, if only for a few minutes it would have helped. Frieda and I made our train reservations for the next day. We traveled as far as London together. We were so upset we had not even exchanged addresses. I went on to be with my family, thank God I had them.

Eddie wrote everyday sometimes twice, how I watched for that mailman. I passed the time with my family and friends which was a big help, but how I missed Eddie. Our baby was due in August those days seemed so long. I thought the time was passing so slowly. Finally on August 30th our daughter Yvonne was born. Oh what a wonderful day and yet a sad day for Eddie was not there to see his daughter. What a joy Yvonne was, the first grandchild, she got slightly spoiled which was natural, most of all it helped me. I stilled missed Eddie so much but taking care of a new baby and making plans to come to America waiting patiently for the time that I could be with my sweetheart again.

The one thing that made it hard was the fact that the babies had to be at least 6 months old before they were allowed to travel it seemed like eternity. My parents were dreading the day I would leave after all I was thier only daughter and Yvonne the only grandchild. I must admit I was a little afraid to leave my home and country and travel so far away, but then hearing from Eddie telling how he was longing to see us and hold us, made it all seem right and it was.

Early in Feb. 1946, I saw in the newspaper that the Queen Mary was going to be leaving to bring brides and children to the States. This was on a Monday, but we were supposed to get 10 days notice before we left. On Thursday, I got notice to be in London the following Friday. I was so excited, I just knew I was going to be on The Queen Mary, what a rush trying to get everything ready for my forthcoming trip. The first thing I did was to send Eddie a telegram giving him the good news.

Eddie was working with his father in his restaurant in Alice Texas.

They had a home in San Angelo where he was going to meet me. His Stepmother stayed part of the time in Alice and part time in San Angelo so she could be with her aging mother who lived there.

I am going to let Eddie tell the rest of this story.

Eddies story:

After receiving a telegram about February 3rd., 1946 from Hilda, I was so excited that I would soon see her and our new daughter Yvonne. It seemed such an eternity since we had been together, I missed Hilda so very very much. I estimated the time it would take for her to arrive on the Queen Mary, I arranged to go to San Angelo to meet her. The government made the travel arrangements for the G.I. brides and said Hilda would be coming to San Angelo by train from New York.

Hilda thought that she was going to come over on the Queen Mary as they notified her on such short notice and the news said that the QM would be taking many war brides to the states. Hilda wired me that she would be coming on the QM but alas they put her on another ship (boat) which was so small, a Liberty ship converted to a hospital ship, named the Zebulin B. Vance which was very inadequate for bringing over young mothers and babies, it did not have the right equipment etc. Incidentally Hilda was met in London by American authorities who took all the brides on to Tidsworth by train where she spent about a week getting all papers in order. Tidsworth was about 80 miles from Southampton, where they boarded the ship. Hilda had been gone from her home in Corby for over a week with no way to notify her parents or me.

After boarding and leaving the dock they soon served the first meal which was pork, the girls had not eaten for several hours and then they ran into a storm in the English channel, consequently everyone became seasick, even some of the crew. It took them 14 days to make the crossing and Hilda was sick the first 8 days and now wonders how she was able to care for our daughter Yvonne who also became ill because of the formula. Each mother was supposed to fix her child's formula but so many were seasick and could not fix it themselves so some of the crew did it. Soon they discovered that some of the mothers were drinking the formula. To prevent this they started putting cod liver oil in every bottle instead of one bottle each day. This made the babies sick. A lot of the mothers could not eat for several days as they were too sick. Hilda lost 16 pounds during this trip. Dysentery also broke out during this time due to the deplorable conditions.

When they finally arrived in New York Feb. 22 the boat was quarantined for 2 days as they thought typhoid fever had broken out, they got off on Feb. 24th.{Hilda`s birthday} then they started their long journey from New York to San Angelo, TX. where I was anxiously awaiting for them. They came by train to Dallas, TX. and would have had to lay over for a day to catch a train for the rest of the trip. Travelers aid came to her rescue and got her booked on a bus within a few hours and she was on her way to San Angelo. These people were very kind to her there, they took Yvonne and bathed her and took Hilda to lunch and stayed with her until she was safely on the bus. I was notified what time the bus would arrive, about 4 PM. you know I was there anxiously waiting with my stepmother Julia and her brother George.

The bus arrived about 15 minutes late, we were all keyed up waiting to see Hilda and the baby who I had not yet seen. When the bus pulled in and started unloading passengers I finally saw my sweetheart Hilda with Yvonne who was in a carry cot which she handed to the bus driver as she was coming down the steps. I could hardly wait until I could hold Hilda and hug her and see my baby daughter, it had been so long. After introducing her to Julia (my stepmother) and to uncle George, we were busy talking and all excited heading for the car when a voice yelled out (HEY HAVE `NT YOU FORGOTTEN SOMETHING) and there was the bus driver holding Yvonne in her carry cot, we had just walked off and left her.

We were all embarrassed but then had a good laugh over it when we got home. Hilda was so surprised to see a beautiful birthday cake waiting for her as we had planned a little party. Hilda was so tired it had been a terrible ordeal for her. The first thing we had to do the next morning was call the Doctor as both Hilda and Yvonne were ill. When the Dr. got to the house (good old days) the first thing he said to Hilda "say something," I don `t know what language he was expecting. It took a couple of days until they were feeling better, it was during this trip that Hilda wrote her poem about being seasick. We heard a news report in April 1946 that aboard the same ship 6 babies had died and we never heard any further reports about this. There is a lot more to this story for instance there were over 100 war brides and most had babies ages 6 to 18 months old. No facilities for proper care this was before disposable diapers and no place to wash the diapers and clothes except late at night when the bathrooms were clean Hilda managed to rinse the clothes and hang them on the bunk bed rails to dry. Hilda has said that if she had known this I would have had to go to England, this was truly a nightmare. It took over three weeks for Hilda and Yvonne to make this trip from her home in England to her home in Texas.

Several years later we found out our family doctor in Midland, TX. Dr. Barney Grafa, was the only doctor aboard this ship and he was very young at the time. He remembered that voyage very well and agreed that it should never have been used as it was to transport children. Oh well we all survived. I might add that if I had gone back to England I would have been happy living there, I have enjoyed the trips we have made since I retired.