Dad & Mum 1940 by happypat

Dad & Mum 1940

While I’m posting memorabilia this is my mum & dad on their wedding day in 1940
Taken outside the Bull & Royal Hotel in Preston.
No lovely wedding dress for my mum sadly as it was war time.
Mum never knew my dad with any hair!
He was a navigator during the war navigating Lancaster Bombers over Germany.
He did 32 sortes & all that time the same crew stayed together & never lost any of them….a lucky crew indeed.
RAF 9 Squadron
I never heard my father ever speak of his time in the war & I think that was quite common …….no counselling in those days, they just had to get on with it.
During the time he was flying they lived in Warboys Bomber Command base in Cambridgeshire & then Forres where he was based at Lossiemouth.
After he left his navigating time he did some instructing & we as a family came back to Preston where my mum came from.
My dad was a Geordie from Newcastle upon Tyne.
A lovely shot Pat - yes my mum did not waste coupons on a wedding dress - married at the beginning of February in a navy suit ! - but so elegant !
January 31st, 2025  
A lovely capture of your parents. My mum didn't have a wedding dress either, wartime frugality
January 31st, 2025  
My parents were also married in 1940.......my Mum wearing a very similar suit to your Mum's ! My Dad was not in the Forces as he had 'protected' employment at a manufacturing plant which made Alloys.
January 31st, 2025  
My parents married in 1939 and my father was in protected industry manufacturing parachute silk. I have never seen a wedding photograph.
January 31st, 2025  
Wonderful
January 31st, 2025  
What a lovely photo of your parents. It's interesting to hear your dad flew bombers. Sounds like you are lucky to be here yourself!
January 31st, 2025  
A beautiful photo… lovely élégance & warm smiles.
Jolly hard times…
January 31st, 2025  
My Grandad was at Lossiemouth in the war with the RAF. I wonder if they knew each other? Lovely memory shot.
January 31st, 2025  
A lovely photo, very much of its time. I wonder where they lived in Lincolnshire?
January 31st, 2025  
@carole_sandford I’ve just asked my brother Carole & not Lincolnshire but Warboys in Cambridgeshire. Apparently they had half a Nissan hut with a potbelly stove & it was very cold. She used to count the Lancasters coming back in & was on her own with me as a very small baby in a cot. It was controlled by Bomber Command.
January 31st, 2025  
@happypat not an easy beginning to married life I’m sure. I think most of the bases were along the eastern side of the country. Cambs is kind of eastern too.
January 31st, 2025  
@casablanca Well you ever know. My brother was born in Forres & he’s now eighty so it would be in 1944….before your dad’s time I expect but interesting!
January 31st, 2025  
@happypat My Dad was 14 then but it was his father that was up there then. We will never know but it is an interesting thought that my Grandfather could have known your Dad!
January 31st, 2025  
@casablanca Wouldn’t that have been great! 😍
January 31st, 2025  
What a lovely photo of your Mum and Dad.
January 31st, 2025  
a beautiful photo and a lovely look at your history Pat . My Grandad never told my dad or uncle about his time in the Somme , WW1 but one Sunday on the anniversary of his best friends death he opened up to me and my brother , told us info' that my dad never knew !
January 31st, 2025  
They both look wonderful. Your Mum makes a beautiful bride.
February 1st, 2025  
@phil_howcroft Once he started he perhaps couldn't stop…..I wish I had asked, my brothers seem to know more so he must have opened up to them more. I suppose they wanted to forget!
February 1st, 2025  
What a wonderful picture. I think you resemble your Mum!
February 1st, 2025  
It's hard to imagine how difficult life must be during war time. I can't imagine living with the constant fear and dread that your nearest and dearest may not come home. I wish I had asked my grandparents more about their experiences during the war but we never think about these things when we're younger. I have no-one left now I can ask about family history.
February 1st, 2025  
What a beautiful photo of your parents. Thanks for the story that goes with it. Your mother is very stylish and has a beautiful smile.
I once heard someone say, “God made a few perfect heads, the rest he covered with hair”. Yes it was a bald man who said this.
February 1st, 2025  
Great photo and story of your Dad
February 1st, 2025  
Such a wonderful photo to have & treasure.
February 1st, 2025  
Totally charming
February 1st, 2025  
@boxplayer @leggzy @bkbinthecity @illinilass @nickspicsnz @thewatersphotos @allie912 @onewing @beverley365 @yorkshirekiwi @joansmor @thistle_01 @cutekitty @carolmw @beryl .

I have been quite overwhelmed by all your lovely comments on this post.
Your interest & stories about your own parents made my day.
I must admit I do enjoy the personal touches about all my 365 friends & although it is a photography site it’s the chat for me that beats the photo every time!
Thank you all.
February 1st, 2025  
Your Mum looks very happy..
Great record for your Dad's squadron to be proud of..
My Dadd never talked of his army time overseas either other than with his mates at reunions..
February 1st, 2025  
@happypat I really agree, Pat! The thought that I can converse with so many people, all over the world and with such diverse backgrounds, keeps me taking pictures!!
February 2nd, 2025  
Interesting reading other stories of that time. My father never spoke of his war time either. That was the 1st World War, tool.
February 2nd, 2025  
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