‘That’s what I meant!’ shouted Tommy. ‘Don’t try to tell me what I just told you!’

‘… but everyone has to do what they are best at,’ Danny went on. ‘When you were younger you helped on the farm, and that meant more of us got proper food, so that was the right thing for you to do then. So it’s a matter of deciding what’s the best thing for you now.’

‘Joining the Merchant Navy!’

‘If you won’t listen to me, then listen to Jack,’ Danny went on, picking up the letter that had started the latest row. ‘He doesn’t want you out there putting your life at risk.’

Tommy bunched his fists in frustration. ‘Jack would say that. What does he know about it?’

‘Well, seeing as he’s been in the Fleet Air Arm protecting all the ships of the Merchant Navy for these past five years, he probably knows more than most,’ Danny said, unable to keep the asperity from his voice. ‘That’s exactly why he’s written to say you’re not to join up. Think what happened to Eddy. You have to listen to Jack. You’re not twenty-one yet and he’s head of the household, no matter where he is at this moment.’ Truth be told, the letter was so heavily censored that Danny had no idea where Jack had sent it from. What he did know was that some of the Fleet Air Arm squadrons had been involved in D-day, and he was not sure if Jack had been seconded to one of those. He was very experienced; he might well have been chosen. If that was the case, Danny didn’t know how he could face writing the letter to say that Tommy had run away to sea. It didn’t bear thinking about.

‘I’ll lie about my age,’ threatened Tommy.

‘You go ahead and try,’ Danny countered. ‘They might at a push accept you are fifteen, but that’s it. And anyway, everyone round here knows your name. They’ll all recognise you’re Jack’s brother and know all about you, so they won’t take you on.’

‘I’ll run away and sign up somewhere else!’

Danny shook his head, although it wouldn’t have been the first time Tommy had run away. The first place he’d been evacuated to had been a cold, cruel household, and he’d made his own way back home from there, although he’d been barely ten at the time. He wasn’t short of courage or resourcefulness, that was for sure. Danny decided to take a step back and let his brother talk it through, rather than push him to run off as he’d threatened.