Valentines : The Way It Was

The Way It Was
It is 1943,the middle of the Second World War. Hundreds of thousands of servicemen and women are fighting across the world from North Africa to the Far East. At home their families are in constant danger from air raids .Everyone is anxious for news of loved ones.

There are, however, serious difficulties. E-mails, texts and mobile phones are many years in the future. Hand written letters are the only means of keeping in touch and these take several weeks to arrive. They are sometimes lost if the plane carrying them is shot down. There are heartbreaking occasions when letters continue to arrive, long after the writer has been killed.

I met a girl very briefly and found that we both liked the same things. Unfortunately I was posted to North Africa before I could say I loved her.


I wrote to tell her and her reply took five weeks to reach me ! She was cautious at first, but, in the two and a half years we were apart, we exchanged 675 letters and were married three weeks after I returned, Our marriage lasted 60 years until she died in 2006.

A letter written by someone you love is so much more personal than an e-mail or text. We kept all our letters and they have now been published in a book. The actual letters are in the Imperial War Museum where anyone can see them.


Tony Ross.

Tony's book can be found at the link below:

Dear Joan Love Letters from the Second World War

Also

Tony Ross gave an interview on
BFBS TV about his book

Loveminimine

My name is Jo and my husband is currently serving in the Royal Navy. I recently started my own business called Love Mini Mine, where I makepersonalised comfort dolls. The Love Mini Mine dolls were created as a means to comfort my own children when their Dad was away andthey were designed to help them understand that Daddy loves them and is always thinking of them, even when hecan’t be with them.

Why did this all start? When my daughter was born, my husband went away for 7½ months. When he left, our daughter couldn't even roll over. When he came back, she was a walking, talking toddler! When he came home, she pointed to him and shouted out "Daddy." We couldn't believe that she recognised him! Whilst he was away, she used to give a goodnight kiss, every night, to a photo of him that was in her bedroom - it was that photo that helped her remember her Dad.

Sometime later, my husband went away again and I got to thinking of the photo my daughter used to kiss and how our kids felt when their Dad left. After a bit more of a think, the first dolls were born! My daughter and son cuddled their dolls every night to go to sleep. Happy or sad, they cuddled the doll! It was lovely to see them be able to be close to their Dad, even though he was hundreds of miles away. The dolls are a little something that helps our children get through those times when allthey wanted was a hug from their old Dad.

It’s been nearly three years since I made the first doll for my son, (it’s a bit soggy round the edges now!). I work from home, which is great so I can still fit my work around my family life. The dolls have continued to be a big hit with my kids and everyone who has one loves them!

You can visit me on my website www.loveminimine.co.uk and follow me on Twitter and Facebook page ‘Love Mini Mine.’

I hope the dolls can comfort your family, like they do mine!

Jo x