World War Two Veteran Recalls Mother’s Deception Over Sweetheart’s Letters

Phyllis Vincent, a 102-year-old woman and former Land Girl from World War Two, has recounted the sense of betrayal she experienced when her mother, who disapproved of her relationship, concealed letters from her sweetheart. Ms. Vincent, currently residing in a Cambridge care home, joined the Land Army at age 18 in 1940. She was assigned to work on a farm in her home county of Devon. At that time, she had already started a romance with Ron, an RAF gunner, but came to believe he had spurned her when her correspondence received no replies. She states that she remembers “all of it,” particularly as the nation observes Remembrance Day. Phyllis first encountered Ron on the Torquay seafront in the summer of 1939, just as the country was nearing war, but her mother immediately prohibited their relationship. Several months subsequent to this, she was dispatched for Land Girl training. During this period, Ron visited her and dispatched coded letters in an effort to circumvent her mother’s interference. Following her training, she received an assignment to a farm, earning 32 shillings weekly. She remarked, “I quite enjoyed it, apart from getting up at 04:30 – I wasn’t too keen on that.” She added, “I lived six miles from the farm and at first I didn’t live in.” Describing her duties, she stated, “It was hard work; I milked the cows, then had breakfast, then clean their mess up, and there was field work.” She also mentioned, “I learned to drive a tractor, I learned to go up and down and turn the earth.” The pair reconnected during Ron’s leave, but her mother’s deceit ultimately led to the relationship’s demise. Her mother had asserted that Ron had sought her out while she was residing with an aunt. Subsequently, the correspondence ceased without explanation. Phyllis clarified, “My mum kept the letters from him because she wanted me to marry another chap.” Following advice from friends to “love again,” she started a relationship with Norman, a wounded soldier, despite still longing for Ron. Ultimately, she discovered all of Ron’s letters as her wedding guests were assembled at the church. She recounted, “She [my mother] gave me a letter from Ron on my wedding day, of all days, saying he was safe in France. I felt very angry and hurt. “In those days, parents had more authority over you.”” Phyllis and Norman subsequently had two daughters and two sons. They relocated to Australia, drawn by the Ten Pound Pom scheme, which offered incentives for a new life “Down Under.” The family later came back to Devon, and Phyllis, after becoming a widow, eventually moved to Red Lodge, situated near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, to reside with her son, Peter, and his wife, Etwin. Reflecting on Remembrance Day and the pointlessness of war, she mentioned that numerous school friends had perished during the conflict. She commented, “Boys studied hard, left school, had a couple of jobs, got called up and got killed. It seemed a waste of life to me.” She further stated, “I remember all of it, especially night after night expecting to get bombed any minute, hearing planes going over. “[Once], I was riding a bicycle to work, I heard sirens went and I was going to jump off and run in for shelter in the town hall.” She concluded this recollection by saying, “As he machine gunned across it went through my bicycle wheel and missed me entirely.”