Wartime Friends

Book excerpt: Set in Lincolnshire during World War 2, Wartime Friends is a tale of unbreakable bonds in times of strife, by bestselling author of The Poacher's Daughter, Margaret Dickinson. It is 1940s coastal Lincolnshire and Carolyn Holmes is keen to do what she can for the war effort. Raised on the family farm, she is prevented by her mother from going to secretarial college. Phyllis Carter, a widow from the Great War, lives close by with her son, Peter, who works on the farm. Peter and Carolyn are great friends but do not see a future together, although it is the dearest wish of both mothers to see them marry. After their home town is caught in an air raid, Peter decides to volunteer – to the distress of his mother – and Carolyn leaves to join the Auxiliary Territorial Service – the 'women's branch' of the British Army. It is there she meets Beryl Morley, who will become a lifelong friend. Carolyn and Beryl are posted to Beaumanor Hall as ‘listeners’. This is the most difficult of signals intelligence gathering, intercepting enemy messages which are then sent to Bletchley Park for deciphering. As the war unfolds and their work becomes even more vital, Carolyn and Beryl’s friendship strengthens and, in the dangerous times that follow, they will both need the support of the other as they face personal troubles of their own – and the lives of those they love are put at risk . . .