For Those Who Are Lost by Julia Bryan Thomas

Author:Julia Bryan Thomas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2022-05-27T00:00:00+00:00

Part Four

13

December 1943

Lily

Every moment was a precious thing, having in it the essence of finality.

—Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca

The war had been going on for years; sometimes it felt like forever. In 1942, the Cornish town of Bodmin suffered a blitz of its own a mere twenty minutes from Saint Austell when two German airplanes dropped a succession of bombs on the unsuspecting village. The gasworks company was hit, causing an explosion the likes of which the town had never seen. Homes and businesses were destroyed. Hospitals were full. Air raids kept everyone ill at ease, waiting for the next attack. Lily was frightened that the devastation of war had come so close. Throughout that year and into the next, the English coped the best they could with what they had at hand: building victory gardens to supply herbs and vegetables, rationing food, men volunteering to join the forces, women going work to support the war efforts. Churches, like Holy Trinity in Saint Austell, took in the poor and displaced, helping them relocate after losing their homes and livelihoods. Everyone did their part, even children. Catherine helped her parents serve food on Saturdays, carrying bowls of soup and plates of food to those in need. No job was too small or unimportant at a time when the fate of the nation hung in the balance. Winston Churchill set out a plan for postwar reconstruction in 1943, leading Britain to hope that the war would soon be over.

“It is our duty to peer through the mists of the future to the end of the war,” the prime minister stated, “and to try our utmost to be prepared by ceaseless effort and forethought for the kind of situations which are likely to occur. Speaking under every reserve and not attempting to prophesy, I can imagine that sometime next year—but it might be the year after—we might beat Hitler, by which I mean beat him and his powers of evil into death, dust, and ashes.”

The newspapers had printed the speech, and Lily and Peter read it several times, willing it to be true. They felt fortunate to be together and in a position to do for others as well, but they looked forward to a time of peace.

“I can’t believe we’ve been married three years already,” he said one evening, looking up from his newspaper as she came to join him in the sitting room.

“I know,” she answered.

She set down a tray on a low table and poured them each a cup. It seemed impossible that three years had gone by. She loved being a vicar’s wife, although her role was tailored more to wartime needs rather than the ecclesiastical. She didn’t give teas at the vicarage or spend her days organizing church bazaars. Her role, first and foremost, was to support her husband, whose responsibilities became heavier with each passing month. They were fortunate to have grown into their roles together.

There were changes in their family as well. Catherine had started school the previous fall.

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