The Grafton Girls - Annie Groves [121]
‘Sit down, Wilson. I just thought I’d have a few words with you post last week’s dreadful accident. Major Saunders will be filing an official report to the American authorities, of course. Both he and the local rescue services have already reported on the role you played and your bravery,’ Group Captain Barker smiled approvingly.
‘I didn’t think about being brave,’ Diane admitted. ‘I just didn’t want…When you’ve worked with airforce men and you’ve seen…He was so young…’
To Diane’s astonishment the Group Captain passed a clean white handkerchief across the desk to her, telling Diane bracingly, ‘That’s the spirit,’ when she blew her nose to halt the tears that that been threatening to overwhelm her.
‘Major Saunders told me this morning that you had requested the young airman’s address so had you could write to his family.’
Lee had been here at Derby House? Diane’s heart did a steep dive and then crash-landed, mirroring her swift surge of excitement followed by the disappointment of knowing he had not tried to see her.
‘I…I wasn’t sure whether or not it would be the right thing to do,’ Diane collected herself enough to respond. ‘I thought initially that his mother would want to know, but then maybe that kind of knowledge might be too much for her to bear.’
‘My advice to you would be for you to write your letter. The major’s suggestion, which I thought a wise one, was that it should then be handed over to someone close enough to the family to know whether or not it was appropriate for them to see it.’
Diane nodded in acknowledgement of the wisdom of this suggestion.
The Group Captain paused, then continued, ‘There is another matter I need to discuss with you, I’m afraid.’
Diane could feel herself starting to tense.
‘I am aware that you requested a transfer from your previous post for personal reasons.’
‘Yes, that’s correct, ma’am,’ Diane agreed, not sure what prompted her question.
‘You were engaged to an airman but the engagement was broken?’ the captain persisted.
Diane nodded again. What was all this about? A terrible thought struck her. Without realising what she was doing she got to her feet, asking anxiously, ‘It’s not…nothing’s happened to Kit, has it, ma’am?’
‘Not so far as I am aware. Please sit down.’ There was more kindness than authority in the Group Captain’s voice.
A little shakily Diane subsided back into her chair.
‘War brings us into contact with situations and choices which we would not normally be called on to deal with, all the more so when we are female. As your superior it is part of my job to be aware of the pressures that young Waafs experience, and when necessary to offer them guidance and advice.’
What on earth was the captain leading up to, Diane wondered.
‘We all know how quickly friendships are made in a war situation, when people are working closely together under conditions of extreme pressure, and how easily, when that friendship is between a man and a woman, it can turn into something…deeper.’ The captain paused and looked down at her desk. ‘I confess that speaking like this to my girls is not an aspect of my job that I welcome. After all, we have all been young, and it is fair to say that we should all have a right to our private lives. However, in wartime, the security of the country has to come before the luxury of personal privacy.’
The security of the nation? Diane’s eyes widened. What on earth was the Group Captain talking about?
‘The security of the nation is not always about the obvious,’ the Group Captain continued, ‘or the necessity to remember that our private conversations could become the property of spies. Sometimes it can be about things that are less easily definable, things such as the moral strength of a country, and the importance of that strength for