Olivia smiled shyly at Maude. Childbirth didn’t leave anyone with a flat stomach, not that she was about to say that to Maude. ‘I wonder what we’ll be doing now that we’ve passed training.’

Maude dried her hands and adjusted her cap. ‘I hope it’s nothing too strenuous. I find my kitbag hard enough to lift!’

Olivia opened the door to the ablutions and together they headed to the ops room. ‘I don’t think they give the heavy jobs to the Waafs – they save them for the fellers.’

The corporal who was responsible for handing out the girls’ postings approached them. ‘Looks like you two are off to RAF Chigwell.’

Olivia glanced down at her envelope. ‘What will we be doing when we get there?’

‘Fabric workers,’ said the corporal. Seeing the blank look on their faces, he added, ‘You’re going to be making and repairing the barrage balloons.’

When Ted had first arrived in RAF Speke, he’d had high hopes of rekindling his friendship with Toff. His only dilemma was, he didn’t know where she currently lived. He had looked through the Kelly’s directory, but the only Campbells mentioned had a different initial to hers. He had of course realised that she would probably be married by now, but that didn’t help matters, so he had decided to bite the bullet and visit the house on Aigburth Drive. To most people this would seem a risky manoeuvre, but Ted knew otherwise. Mr Campbell never answered his own front door – that was the job of the housemaid, Mavis, and whilst Ted knew who Mavis was, he had never met her, so he had no fear of her recognising him. When she answered the door he would simply ask where he could find Olivia, explaining that he was an old friend who had moved away a long time ago – what could be the harm in that? With it all worked out, he had arrived at the Campbells’, but despite his best efforts it seemed that no one was coming to answer the door. At one point, he felt sure that he had heard raised voices, so he had kept his finger on the bell for a few seconds, hoping to gain their attention, but he still got no response. With no alternative he had decided to call back another day.

Several months had gone by and even though he had fully intended to try the house again, there always seemed to be something more important to do. It wasn’t until a chance meeting with one of the boys who used to work alongside him in the Campbells’ factory that things changed.

‘Blimey! Is that Ted Hewitt?’

Leaning back in his seat, Ted caught sight of the familiar face. ‘Andy Evans, as I live and breathe!’

Grinning, Andy walked over to join him. ‘Well I’ll be, I never thought we’d see you round this neck of the woods again!’