At Christmas, Mark was given a couple of days’ leave. He gave little away, saying only that his work was exciting and of course he would stay safe. But later, when he and Kath stayed up late, she asked him. ‘I suppose you were just flannelling the parents earlier?’

‘Can’t have them worrying even more than they have to,’ he said, cracking open another bottle of beer.

‘Aren’t you terrified, most of the time?’

‘Just for a few moments, when the call comes, yes, I’m bloody petrified. But when we’re flying there’s never time to think about it, and when we’re back on the ground we’re either partying or asleep. That’s my life.’

‘Have any of your friends been killed?’

‘Of course; some of them close friends.’ He lit another cigarette, and blew an expert smoke ring towards the ceiling. ‘But you can’t dwell on it. You just have to get on with it and do your job as best you can. There is no other choice. The idea of Germany taking over our country is unthinkable, so if I die, it will have been in the best possible cause. The strange thing is that even though we face death almost every day, I’ve never felt more alive.’

Kath envied him so much: his sense of purpose, his certainty that the Germans would soon be sent packing, his faith in British aircraft and technical ingenuity. She longed to follow his example, to do something useful, to experience that heightened sense of being alive. All her closest friends were having adventures, and her own life seemed to be on hold.

Later that spring, the call-up for women began. Kath overheard one of the other air-raid wardens saying that if you volunteered, rather than waiting to be conscripted, you would be more likely to get the service you chose. Next day, she went to the Town Hall and signed up.

19

She didn’t break the news until after tea, when both of her parents were at home.

‘I’ve got something to tell you,’ she began, heart in mouth.

‘I already know what it is,’ Ma said, putting down her knitting. ‘Norma saw you leaving the Town Hall this morning. Made a special point of singling me out after our shift. “Your girl gone to sign up at last, has she?” The sanctimonious witch . . .’

‘Shush, Maggie,’ Pa murmured. ‘You know her son was badly injured a few months ago?’

‘That doesn’t give her the right . . .’ Ma turned to Kath. ‘So, have you?’

‘I was going to be called up anyway, and I wanted to be able to choose. They’ve got vacancies in the WAAFs, they said.’

Ma gave a little gasp, but said nothing.

‘Perhaps you’ll be posted somewhere nearby?’ Pa volunteered.

‘You know I’ll have to go where they send me.’

‘You might even bump into Mark.’