Ron reached the country road and climbed the steep hill until he reached the top, where he could see Frank already waiting for him in what was left of the old farmhouse the army had requisitioned at the beginning of the war.

Harvey greeted Frank, who made an enormous fuss of him, so taking advantage of this, Harvey flopped on his back to encourage him to rub his stomach, and squirmed in ecstasy at Frank’s rough handling.

‘Daft beast,’ Ron muttered before taking his son into a strong embrace. ‘How are you, my wee boy?’

Frank slapped his father on the back and grinned. ‘I’m all right, as it happens, Da. Pauline’s in a better mood now she’s had a couple of letters from Brendon, and she’s feeling quite pleased with herself for being promoted at the Red Cross as a co-ordinator. She actually gets a small wage now, and I’ve told her to treat herself, so she’s off to the hairdresser’s this morning for a shampoo and set, whatever that is.’

The two of them sat down on one of the fallen rafters, and while Ron lit his pipe, Frank smoked a cigarette and idly stroked Harvey’s ears.

‘It’s a bit worrying that Gerry’s got this new pilotless rocket thing, isn’t it?’ Frank said. ‘I’ve yet to see one close up, just a few lights in the sky and the whirr of a motor, but the report of what happened in London the other day made it sound as if they can cause a lot of damage.’

Ron grimaced. ‘Aye. Poor old London always gets the worst of anything Gerry throws at us. Just be thankful we’re living down here and out of harm’s way.’ He puffed on his pipe and watched as the Air Artillerymen struggled to manoeuvre yet another huge anti-aircraft gun in place.

‘It looks like they’re expecting more to come over. That’s the eighth new gun I’ve seen up here, and there’s talk of having hundreds of barrage balloons erected along the seafront and over the factory estate.’

‘I reckon Hitler’s trying to get his own back because of our successful invasion,’ said Frank. ‘This new weapon feels to me like a last-ditch attempt to stop us getting any further into Europe.’

‘That won’t happen, whatever he throws at us,’ said Ron. ‘We’ve got Gerry on the run all along the Italian Front; we’ve taken Pescara and San Stefano, and are in command of over fifty miles of the Normandy coast.’

‘It’s good news for us all round, isn’t it?’ said Frank. ‘The Russians have finally launched an offensive on Leningrad, and the Japs are still retreating from Kohima. If this keeps up, we’ll soon see the back of Hitler and have our Brendon and Jim home.’