Peggy’s one-time evacuees, Ruby and April, arrived with the stationmaster, Stan, and April’s baby, Paula, who would be one this coming August; soon to be followed by Kitty and her sister-in-law, Charlotte, from Briar Cottage with their three babies. Luckily, they’d been asleep so their prams had been parked in the denuded kitchen. Cordelia’s friend Bertie Double-Barrelled had come looking very dapper in a tweed suit with a patriotic red rose in his buttonhole, and soon there was very little breathing space to be had even in the larger room.

The mood was happy and expectant as food and drink were dispensed and the volume of laughter and chatter rose. It felt to Peggy as if half of Cliffehaven had turned up to listen to Churchill with her that afternoon, and she was absolutely thrilled. These were the people she loved, and they seemed to understand she’d be missing Jim and the rest of her family on such an auspicious occasion, and wanted to do their best to fill that gap.

With only minutes to spare before the broadcast was due, her elder sister Doris slipped into the room with her fiancé Colonel White and Peggy’s daughter Cissy, fresh from Cliffe aerodrome. Peggy’s thrill at seeing her after so long was curtailed by the sound of Big Ben chiming the hour, so after a swift hug and kiss, Peggy had to be content with clasping her hand as Churchill’s familiar voice told them the war in Europe was over, and now they could celebrate before continuing the task of crushing the Japanese.

Churchill’s voice strengthened in triumph as he came to the end of his address. ‘Advance, Britannia! Long live the cause of freedom! God save the King!’

‘Gawd bless you too, Winnie,’ shouted a rather over-refreshed Ivy, raising her glass of elderberry wine. ‘We couldn’t ’ave done it without yer.’

They all cheered and then stood during the National Anthem, the men saluting, the women blinking against happy, relieved tears while Daisy and Paula watched in wide-eyed confusion as to what all the fuss was about.

When the final note of the Anthem faded everyone clasped the person next to them in the sheer joy of the moment. Peggy hugged and kissed everyone, even Pauline, for this was not a day for old enmities to resurface. The war in Europe was finally and indisputably over and, God willing, her nephew Brendon and all the other Cliffehaven men would soon be coming home along with her loved ones from Somerset. But even in her happiness she couldn’t help wondering how long it would be before her beloved Jim could cross the threshold of Beach View to be with her again.