The Battle of Britain Five Months That Changed History, May—October 1940 by James Holland (z-lib.org).epub

been based at Boscombe Down and had been instantly smitten. ‘She was
super, gorgeous,’ says Pete. ‘I was very lucky.’ Annette had been only
twenty when they became engaged, and perhaps not surprisingly her father
was none too pleased at the prospect of her marrying so young, and
especially a pilot. However, she was due to be twenty-one in April and told
her father that then she could do as she pleased. Reluctantly, he agreed to
the marriage. The next hurdle was for Pete to get the permission of the
station commander. Generally, pilots had to be either a squadron leader or
twenty-eight to be allowed to marry. ‘You’re a bit bloody young, aren’t
you?’ the station commander told him. ‘What if I said no?’
‘It would be a bit difficult to send you an invitation to the wedding, Sir!’
Pete replied. The station commander laughed and gave him his blessing.
They married in March 1939, honeymooning in Cornwall during the Czech
crisis. Then, the day before they returned, he received a telegram saying he
had been promoted to Flight Lieutenant, which pushed his pay from
fourteen shillings a day to twenty shillings and twopence. It made all the
difference. To begin with they lived in a bungalow next to Biggin, but when
war was declared he insisted she should move in with an aunt in nearby
Westerham.
Now, in July, he had already begun to think he should move her out of
danger when a bomb fell nearby and a piece of shrapnel flew through the
window and smashed the mirror on her table as Annette was sitting at it. As
far as Pete was concerned, that was it. He insisted on her going to
Lancashire to stay with his parents. ‘Got her away from the worst of it,’ he
says, ‘which was good because she used to count us in. Every time I came
back from a sortie, I had to whiz over the house to reassure her I was still
around.’ He would miss her, but at least he no longer had to worry about her
so much.
The incident also marked a change in his attitude. Like many others, he
had regarded the war as something of a game that was exciting, dangerous,
but nothing personal. He felt differently now. ‘I then said, “Right, these are
a bunch of bastards. I don’t like them any more. I am going to be beastly.”’
He was soon able to put his words into actions. On 19 July, the squadron
was scrambled to intercept an attack by Stukas on Dover Harbour. In the
ensuing scrap, he shot down an Me 109 from JG 51. The next day, whilst
protecting yet another Channel convoy, he claimed another.