They embarked from Liverpool in early January 1941, on the Empress of Australia for Freetown, Mombasa, the Arabian Sea. At Bombay, the squadrons joined the Aquitania with its draft of a thousand service personnel bound for the nutmeg smell of Rangoon. In March the squadrons formed at Kallang Airport to aid the defence of Singapore, with their cumbersome Buffalo fighter planes.

Two days before he left, Angus sent me a postcard.

Thank you for a wonderful leave, my love. Something to carry with me in the darker days ahead.

Guess who I ran into last night – Olivia! At one of the local Naafis. We had quite a jolly time together. Good to see a familiar face in all this. Keep your spirits up, my darling. Thinking of you constantly. Love, Angus.

*

I ran into Elizabeth Kemp, forced the meeting, though I’m sure she would have preferred a pretence of not seeing me. Even her appearance grated on me. It was the spring of 1941, and the air raids were at last beginning to let up, but it had been a hard, heartbreaking winter for so many people. The city was peppered with bomb sites and we were all pale-faced, haggard from nerves and lack of sleep. But there was Elizabeth, sauntering along New Street dressed in what must have been a very expensive navy coat, stylish high-heeled shoes and an extravagant, wide-brimmed hat. So few people looked glamorous in the city. I couldn’t help thinking how typical it was of her, this inability to confront even the reality of the war.

‘Good morning, Mrs Kemp.’ I wouldn’t call her Elizabeth. I stood square in front of her in my flat nursing shoes and blue serge coat.

‘Oh! Katie!’ She recoiled slightly. ‘I didn’t see you.’

‘How odd. I could have sworn you were looking straight at me.’ I gave her a broad smile so that she was left unsure whether I was being sarcastic or not. I could feel her thinking what a frump I looked.

‘How’s Olivia? I don’t hear all that much from her.’

Elizabeth’s hands fiddled with the clasp of her glossy blue handbag. ‘To tell you the truth, neither do we.’ She looked down, watching the drab feet passing us. She had aged even since I last saw her. Her face was thinner, more lined. ‘I gather she’s getting along fine. Well settled in. Doing her bit – you know. To tell you the truth we thought she might soon find she’d had enough, but not a bit of it.’ She forced a laugh, still unable to meet my eye.

When she looked up again it was over my shoulder at the grand frontage of the bank behind me. ‘And how are you, Kate?’

We exchanged a few more pleasantries. As we said our goodbyes she looked at me directly for the first time, eyes slightly narrowed.

‘Was it you that put her up to joining up?’

‘Good heavens, no.’ I began to turn away. ‘Actually, I had the impression that it was your influence. Both of you.’