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Authors: Keith Pearson
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towards the end of February, there were already stories that at the Alexandra Military Hospital in Singapore, Japanese soldiers had brutally murdered the patients they found there.
Ruth knew that Michael had been based there but this was in a much earlier letter and she hoped that he had moved on. Earlier stories of the battle of Jitra in Malaya in the December spoke of captured and wounded allied soldiers being killed where they lay. There was even a story that some captured Australian troops were doused with petrol and burned to death.
Ruth refused to concede that Michael might be dead, preferring to hold out the hope that he would eventually get a letter home to say he was well. Nonetheless, Ruth could not stop herself from looking to the skies as he might in Singapore to see if she too could see ‘ swallows in February ’.
Throughout the year of nineteen forty two Ruth threw herself into the routine of work with a renewed vigour. She saw herself as needing to build a life for herself rather than simply doing a wartime job. This would entail being good at what she was doing and she determined that she would also live life to the full. She spent the spring and summer months in her routine of work shifts and wove around them hours spent with friends either on the beach or dancing.
Ruth also renewed an old friendship when Mary Morgan came to Blackpool for three days with her mother. They arrived on the Friday afternoon and arranged to stay at a small guest house just off the promenade. It was agreed that Ruth would meet Mrs Morgan and Mary on the Friday evening after they had eaten supper and show them a little of Blackpool.
It was not long before they were seated in the Tower Ballroom surrounded by servicemen eager to dance with all three of them. Mrs Morgan was more than happy to oblige leaving Ruth and Mary time to talk.
Ruth noticed that Mary was more insular less easy to talk to than previously but put this down to the time they had spent apart. They reminisced about the night of the bombing in Cardiff and this seemed to change Mary’s mood as slowly they regained the intimacy they had enjoyed previously. Much of their talk was about old work colleagues at the post office and a couple of sad stories of husbands who had been killed in the line of service. Neither of them was particularly enjoying the ballroom and they agreed with Mrs Morgan that they would leave her there and return to the guest house.
As they walked arm in arm along the sea front Mary noticed a sign saying ‘Palmist, have your fortune told here’. They giggled and eventually agreed that it would be fun to ‘look into the future’. They went into a darkened area immediately inside the main doorway to where a man sat protectively at a small table. Seeing the girls approach he said that it would cost a six pence each to see the gypsy which they paid.
They were then ushered into the dimly lit area where the gypsy was sitting at a round table. As she looked up she beckoned them to sit and rather alarmingly her first words to the girls were, “I know that this is the first you have seen of each other for a very long while and I know that you both have much on your minds.” Ruth and Mary looked at each other with surprise wondering how she could know this.
The gypsy then turned to Ruth and took her right hand in hers. She pondered this for some time, occasionally running a finger over her palm but mostly looking deep into Ruth’s eyes. This was unnerving and Ruth was beginning to wonder if this had been a good idea. The gypsy then turned to Mary and again took her hand in hers. On this occasion, her concentration was much more focussed upon her palm with the occasional glance into her face.
Eventually, as the gypsy turned, she lifted her head and still holding Mary’s hand said, “You must share your secret with only those you trust, and you know there will be some that will want to damn you. You are destined to know a kind of love that
Ruth knew that Michael had been based there but this was in a much earlier letter and she hoped that he had moved on. Earlier stories of the battle of Jitra in Malaya in the December spoke of captured and wounded allied soldiers being killed where they lay. There was even a story that some captured Australian troops were doused with petrol and burned to death.
Ruth refused to concede that Michael might be dead, preferring to hold out the hope that he would eventually get a letter home to say he was well. Nonetheless, Ruth could not stop herself from looking to the skies as he might in Singapore to see if she too could see ‘ swallows in February ’.
Throughout the year of nineteen forty two Ruth threw herself into the routine of work with a renewed vigour. She saw herself as needing to build a life for herself rather than simply doing a wartime job. This would entail being good at what she was doing and she determined that she would also live life to the full. She spent the spring and summer months in her routine of work shifts and wove around them hours spent with friends either on the beach or dancing.
Ruth also renewed an old friendship when Mary Morgan came to Blackpool for three days with her mother. They arrived on the Friday afternoon and arranged to stay at a small guest house just off the promenade. It was agreed that Ruth would meet Mrs Morgan and Mary on the Friday evening after they had eaten supper and show them a little of Blackpool.
It was not long before they were seated in the Tower Ballroom surrounded by servicemen eager to dance with all three of them. Mrs Morgan was more than happy to oblige leaving Ruth and Mary time to talk.
Ruth noticed that Mary was more insular less easy to talk to than previously but put this down to the time they had spent apart. They reminisced about the night of the bombing in Cardiff and this seemed to change Mary’s mood as slowly they regained the intimacy they had enjoyed previously. Much of their talk was about old work colleagues at the post office and a couple of sad stories of husbands who had been killed in the line of service. Neither of them was particularly enjoying the ballroom and they agreed with Mrs Morgan that they would leave her there and return to the guest house.
As they walked arm in arm along the sea front Mary noticed a sign saying ‘Palmist, have your fortune told here’. They giggled and eventually agreed that it would be fun to ‘look into the future’. They went into a darkened area immediately inside the main doorway to where a man sat protectively at a small table. Seeing the girls approach he said that it would cost a six pence each to see the gypsy which they paid.
They were then ushered into the dimly lit area where the gypsy was sitting at a round table. As she looked up she beckoned them to sit and rather alarmingly her first words to the girls were, “I know that this is the first you have seen of each other for a very long while and I know that you both have much on your minds.” Ruth and Mary looked at each other with surprise wondering how she could know this.
The gypsy then turned to Ruth and took her right hand in hers. She pondered this for some time, occasionally running a finger over her palm but mostly looking deep into Ruth’s eyes. This was unnerving and Ruth was beginning to wonder if this had been a good idea. The gypsy then turned to Mary and again took her hand in hers. On this occasion, her concentration was much more focussed upon her palm with the occasional glance into her face.
Eventually, as the gypsy turned, she lifted her head and still holding Mary’s hand said, “You must share your secret with only those you trust, and you know there will be some that will want to damn you. You are destined to know a kind of love that
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