Beyond the Shadow of War by Diane Moody Read Free Book Online Page B

and the Royal Chapel. Even right here where we’re standing outside the forecourt, a delayed-action bomb left a crater more than ten feet deep and thirty feet wide. It was absolutely appalling.”
    Danny whistled. “You’d never know by the looks of it. I have to hand it to the reconstruction crews for repairing all that damage.”
    “Were the king and queen here when it happened?” Anya asked.
    “Yes, but thankfully, they weren’t injured,” Sybil said. “The next day they were out and about viewing the damage and giving encouragement to the workers who were cleaning up the debris.”
    “Tell them what the queen said about the palace being bombed,” Jack prompted.
    “She said she was actually glad the Germans bombed the palace because it helped her understand what the rest of London was experiencing. She said it made her feel like she could finally look the East End in the face, or something like that. The East End received a tremendous amount of damage during the war.”
    “But why were the king and queen still in residence?” Anya asked. “Why didn’t they evacuate and go somewhere safe?”
    “They sent the princesses‌—‌Elizabeth and Margaret‌—‌to Windsor Castle, but the king and queen insisted on staying; I suppose as a symbol of solidarity with their subjects. Whenever the palace sustained damage, they would both be seen about, taking a look for themselves to see what had happened.”
    Danny leaned against the railing. “I also heard they visited bomb shelters to encourage the people who found refuge there?”
    “Yes. In fact, a couple of years ago I was trying to get home one day when the sirens went off, so I followed everyone to the nearest Tube station for shelter. The king and queen had been there visiting just moments before the sirens went off. I didn’t get to see them, but everyone there was absolutely delighted by their visit. They said it was immensely inspiring to see the royal couple’s genuine care and concern.
    “Oh, but you should have been here when we heard the war had ended!” Sybil continued, her voice filled with excitement. “ Thousands of people all around, as far as the eye could see! We’d all heard rumors, of course, and everyone was drawn here to the palace to wait for the announcement. It didn’t come until much, much later. We were beginning to think it was all a hoax until later that evening when Churchill made it official. We were told that the following day, the eighth of May, would be a national holiday‌—‌Victory in Europe Day!”
    “It must have been so exciting,” Anya said.
    “Oh, it was the most glorious moment!” she continued, her hands in constant motion. “The RAF flew victory rolls overhead, and the church bells rang and rang. We were all dancing and laughing and shouting until we were positively hoarse from it all. We kept crying out, ‘We want the king! We want the king!’ We would have stayed all night had it not been for a ridiculous thunderstorm that kicked up just before midnight.
    “But the next morning we were all back, then later that afternoon, the king and queen finally came out on that balcony. See it over there? The princesses were there too, then Prime Minister Churchill joined them, and the roar of the crowd was positively magical‌—‌”
    “Sybil, these nice folks are‌—‌”
    “Oh Jack, let me finish!” Sybil waved him off and continued, her eyes glistening with joy. “The day went on and no one wanted to leave. We were still so excited! Then later in the evening we looked up and saw the most magnificent sight‌—‌two brilliant searchlights coming from St. Paul’s forming a giant ‘V’ for victory in the sky‌—‌” She hiccupped a tiny sob and held a fist to her mouth for a moment. “We’d been under blackouts for so many years, you see, so we all just cried and cried‌—‌”
    “All right, honey,” Jack said, digging a handkerchief out of his pocket. “Dry those tears. I think