One night he dreamed of her, of the feel of her arms around him, the touch of her lips on his, and woke in a flush of desire before remembering the sight of her snogging that US airman. That vision, seared into his brain, was just too painful. His head throbbed with the after-effects of the three strong whiskies he’d drunk the night before. Of course he recalled Lizzie’s advice about perseverance, but that morning he realised that any hopes had been dashed and he had to conclude that she no longer cared for him. The only way of saving himself was to cut out the hurt, like a canker.

That morning he took the small packet of her letters and burned them on the ground behind the engineers’ hut.

‘Everything all right, sir?’ The security guard regarded him suspiciously, fingering his holster.

‘Fine, fine. It’s just the smoke,’ Vic said, wiping his eyes.

‘May I ask for your ID, sir?’

Vic handed over the pass in its battered cardboard wallet. The man scrutinised it carefully and passed it back, frowning as though unconvinced.

‘Thank you, sir. But may I remind you that any unauthorised disposal of documentation is taken very seriously here on the base? You are required to use our special facility for such purposes in the Admin Block.’

‘I wasn’t aware. Sorry, mate.’ Being friendly didn’t usually wash with these types, but it was worth a try.

‘Next time, then, sir?’

Vic nodded, scattering the ashes with the toe of his boot.

‘Good. Enjoy your day, sir.’

The teletext message from Stanmore, decoded and transcribed, arrived at breakfast a few days later in a sealed buff envelope. It had Vic’s name on it and was stamped in red, TOP SECRET: FOR ADDRESSEE ONLY. He tore it open.

RDF TEAM REPORT RAF BAWDSEY IMMEDIATELY IFF TX FAULT CAR WAITING 1600 HOURS TODAY TUESDAY STOP PADMORE

His heart sank. ‘Oh, hell. Why us?’

Bawdsey: he’d loved the place once, but now it was the last place he wanted to go. What if he should bump into Kath? What could he say? Would she even acknowledge him?

He passed the note to Monty. ‘Can’t you go on my behalf? There’s so much to do here.’

‘It says “RDF team”, Vic, and if there’s one person in the world who can sort it out, it’s you. You practically invented the system, after all.’ Monty started to hum the tune of ‘Oh, I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside’. ‘At least it gives us a break from the Yankees. Whatever’s wrong with the place, anyway?’

Vic shrugged. He wasn’t going to bare his heart to Monty. Anyway, there wasn’t any choice; you didn’t say no to Padmore. The new commander of RAF Bawdsey was notoriously tough.

The security at the gatehouse was tighter, with a smart new barrier and guards with guns who no longer recognised him. But as always the sight of the place worked its magic, lifting his heart. It was the first time that he’d ever arrived by car, let alone one with a smartly uniformed American driver.