The Uncertain Years by Beryl Matthews Read Free Book Online Page B

borrowed an old Austin Seven from a friend and had spent every moment he could teaching her to drive. She’d tuned up the bike, and as she packed to return to duty, she felt she was well prepared for her new posting. The only disappointment was that Jim and Bob hadn’t been home.
    Will and her mother saw her to the train. The station was packed with service men and a few women in uniform, and she didn’t miss the brief flash of regret in her brother’s eyes. It hurt to see that his rejection by the armed services still lingered, and she hoped the paper would make good use of his talents. His great need at this time was to feel useful.
    The train pulled out and she waved frantically for as long as her family were in sight. Then she sat back and wondered what was ahead of her.
    It didn’t take long to report in and stow her few belongings. The billet was better than the last bare hut she had shared with the girls, and there were only six bunks instead of twelve. Luxury indeed.
    Then she made her way to the mess for her evening meal. After such a busy, exciting day, she was starving.
    Much to her delight the first person she saw was Alice Henderson.
    ‘Becky!’ Alice rushed towards her, smiling with real pleasure. ‘I was hoping you’d turn up here. You got what you wanted then?’
    ‘I had a lot of help, but I’ll tell you about that later. What about you?’ Becky asked as they sat down.
    ‘I’m working for a major at the moment, but I’m aiming for a general before this war’s over.’
    ‘And I’m sure you’ll find one,’ Becky said laughing.
    ‘I’ll have a darned good try. They’ll be hard pushed to find a better secretary.’
    That remark reminded Becky why she’d found Alice so likeable. She oozed self-confidence, but not in a stuck-up way.
    They spent the rest of the meal catching up with each other’s news.
     
    Becky hardly noticed the time passing. Slipping the spanner into her pocket, she straightened up and lifted her face to the warm May sunshine. She had spent hours with her head stuck in engines and books. With added responsibility came her first stripe. She excelled in anything to do with engines, and her abilities had been quickly recognised.
    She wrote to David regularly, but she had only received two short letters from him, and nothing over the last four weeks. She loved what she was doing and had settled into army life with ease. Her happiness would have been complete if it hadn’t been for the worrying news. It seemed as if the German army was unstoppable. David was somewhere in France, and maybe Jim was too. No one knew where Bob was at any one time, and shipping was being sunk at an alarming rate. Becky had never been a regular churchgoer, but she had taken to saying a prayer at night for all those she loved, and everyone else in danger.She had no idea if it did any good, but it made her feel better to remember them all in this way.
    There wasn’t any point dwelling on it, though, because if France fell then this country, and everyone in it, would be in the front line.
     
    ‘Something’s happening!’ Will cried as he burst into the chief’s office one day without pausing to knock. ‘Someone’s just told me anything that will float is being requisitioned by the navy. There are boats of all shapes and sizes making their way to the coast.’
    ‘Well, don’t just stand there.’ Ted Dunston was on his feet and moving towards the newsroom. ‘Go and find out what the hell they’re needed for. Charlie! Go with Will. Find out what’s going on and get back here quickly! Will, you stay with this until you have the full story. And take a camera with you.’
    ‘Right.’
    The two boys ran and didn’t stop until they reached the Thames. Gasping for breath they watched the flotilla of assorted boats in amazement.
    ‘Where are you going?’ Will called to a man steering a fair-sized cabin cruiser.
    ‘Sheerness Dockyard,’ he shouted back.
    ‘Why?’
    ‘No idea, mate. We’ve