Trevor, Boops and Richardy-pie: Roses in December

Dr Norah Taylor and Dr Trevor Johns, Mum and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, were married on 2nd December 1939, seven months earlier than planned due to the outbreak of World War II. Concealing her marriage in order to be able to continue working and training at King’s College Hospital, Camberwell, Norah worked with Trevor treating wounded Allied soldiers following the Fall of France and the Evacuation of Dunkirk.

Their first child, Richard, was born on Boxing Day 1941 and less than 8 weeks later Trevor left home for the Royal Naval Barracks at Portsmouth to serve as a Surgeon Lieutenant for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. A month later, in March 1942, he was posted overseas with Combined Operations and was not to return, nor see his wife and baby son, for the next three years. During that time he served in Africa, Madagascar, India, Burma and finally the Mediterranean. The scores of letters Trevor and Norah wrote, a remarkable number of which reached their destinations, record not only their passionate and faithful love for and devotion to each other but also offer a fascinating insight into lives on both the Home Front and on Active Service.