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About the Author

Daisy Styles grew up in Lancashire surrounded by a family and community of strong women. She loved to listen to their stories of life in the cotton mill, in the home, at the pub, on the dancefloor, in the local church, or just what happened to them on the bus going into town. It was from these women, particularly her vibrant mother and Irish grandmother, that Daisy learnt the art of storytelling.

By the same author

The Bomb Girls

The Code Girls

The Bomb Girls’ Secrets

Christmas with the Bomb Girls

The Bomb Girl Brides

The Wartime Midwives

Home Fires and Spitfires

Dedication

For Jon Styles,
my guide to the Lake District, thanks for all
the wonderful memories

1. Mrs Jamie Reid

Walking through Mary Vale’s post-natal ward, Ada stopped in her tracks as she felt her baby changing position inside her womb. Tenderly laying a hand over the swell of her belly, she smiled to herself as she murmured under her breath, ‘You’re lively this morning, little one.’

In just a few months’ time, she herself would be on this very ward, hopefully holding her own baby in her arms. What would it be like? Ada wondered. In the years she had been Senior Staff Nurse at Mary Vale’s Home for Mothers and Babies, she had delivered umpteen babies but never her own. One of the youngest patients, calling out from her bed, broke through Ada’s line of thought.

‘Sister Ada, I’m so sore from the baby feeding. Have you got anything I could use to ease the pain?’

Ada smiled warmly as she approached the girl, who had delivered a mewling little boy into the world in the middle of the night.

‘I’ve got some marvellous cream,’ she announced brightly. ‘Made by a friend of mine who specializes in using only natural products; I always keep a good supply of it,’ she added, as she unlocked the medicine cupboard and reached for a jar of the herbal cream that the chemist in Kendal kept a good stock of. ‘Apply liberally three times a day – it will soon soften those cracked nipples of yours.’

The grateful girl took the cream eagerly. ‘Thanks very much. I think it’s because my little boy fed so much during the night that I’m so sore.’

‘He’s fast asleep now,’ Ada informed her. ‘I left him in Nurse Dora’s good care.’

The girl gave a smile of relief. ‘Dora always knows what the babies want,’ she replied. ‘Whether it’s changing, feeding, cuddling or playing, she senses their little needs right away.’

‘She’s a complete natural, with a heart of gold,’ Ada agreed.