We met when I was 16 and he was 18 in 1939 at the Cricklewood Palace Roller Skating Rink London. From that time on we were inseparable and became engaged in 1941.
Sadly he was called up having put his name down for the RAF and after initial training in England he was sent overseas almost immediately.

For a few weeks I was desolate so decided to join the WAAH's in September 1941 when almost 18. And so we kept in touch by letter. During this time I was moved to many different camps in the Pay Accounts departments and he also traveled to various Countries as stated above.

Slowly the war ground on and we began to wonder whether it would ever end or if we would meet again. Our patience paid off and finally we were married at St. John's Church of England, West Hendon on September 8th 1945. There was no easy meeting and transition having been apart for so long we felt like strangers on our honeymoon in Soscastle Cornwall a rather peculiar honeymoon with lots of questions asked on both sides and a few arguments.

We returned home, with me to live with my Father and he to return to camp, coming home each weekend. Later we were able to take over my Grandmother's flat in Deacon Road Willesden. This was so old fashioned but had a controlled rent of 15 shillings per week.  I continued to work as an Audit Clerk until I became pregnant, morning sickness made me leave.

My brother had rewired this old flat to electricity, we had stripped every room and papered them, the only thing we never had was a bathroom all we had was a tin bath that hung outside the scullery. This had to be brought in and filled from a gas copper we installed.
There was a Kitchener stove in the kitchen and that room we mainly used and eventually took out the stove and put in a fireplace. We did have a proper toilet but it was outside.
The landlord was so pleased for us to do all these improvements as the rent had to stay the same.

Eventually after our first daughter was born and another one came along 2 years later we moved to Ruislip where we bought a house. There followed a lot of moves and eventually we had another daughter and then our son. When he started school he started to get a lot of bronchitis and the doctor suggested we move to a warmer climate, so we put our names down for South Africa and Australia saying we would take whichever came first well Australia won out and on April 1st 1963 we set sail a peculiar date which made us wonder if we were doing the right thing. We hated it on arrival but as 10 pound migrants we had to stay for 2 years by that time one daughter had married, one was courting and the 3rd was at school who all loved it so we didn't move back.

We returned for 2 holidays to England when the children were all grown up.
My husband had a heart attack and survived and later had heart failure and he is now an invalid but still at home. I am eaten up with arthritis and have to have help shopping and cleaning Still last Sept 8th 2005 was our Diamond wedding anniversary and so I say with all the trials and tribulations we finally made it. Now we have 12 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren all born in Australia. My husband and I have never given up our British passport and still have a current one, we have never been naturalised Australian and although my children are delighted to live here I am afraid my husband and I have our hearts still in England, the land of our birth.

Location: Modbury Heights South Australia
Submitted by: Marjorie Busby