Nan – Introduction to Life Story

At 97, Nan continues to live by her aunt’s loving message, ‘Adversity makes you stronger’.

Before Nan finished school, both of her parents had died (within two years of each other). Nan more than rose to the challenges and opportunities life presented her. Aunt Betty encouraged Nan to finish her education and move to Wellington at seventeen. She was sure that had her aunt not made that suggestion, she may have been in Dannevirke for the rest of her life.

Jules - Flying is my passion

Jules moved to Auckland when she was seventeen (in 1965) where she worked at Civil Aviation doing air crew licensing. As the only girl in an office staffed by ex-WWII pilots, Jules was spoilt rotten by the guys. They were vibrant, active men, mostly in their mid-40s, who were fabulous to her and became a huge influence in her life. They were deeply affected by the war. If she did not feel like doing any work, she would ask one of them for a story about the war - that was it for the day, they would all gather around and share stories.

Jan - Home was a good place to be

Jan’s parents, Colin and Ella, knew each other from church and the tennis club. Her mother had liked the way her dad folded his tennis jersey. They were madly in love, embarrassingly so for Jan when she was younger. Knowing he might not come back from WWII, Colin did not want to leave Ella as a widow with children. They got engaged before he left but waited to marry. Colin’s war records were saved with his letters from Ella.

Janet – Living in Hong Kong

Colin (Janet’s husband) unexpectedly announced he had applied for two jobs at universities, one in Hong Kong, the other in Jamaica. He got the Hong Kong job, giving them six weeks to pack up and break the news to her parents. In hindsight, they underestimated the impact on their parents of them moving so far away as international travel to Hong Kong was difficult for older people at the time.