Page 12 of The London Girls
‘I know I can talk to you,’ she replied.
‘Well, you just keep that chin up today and show those fellas exactly what you’re capable of, you hear me?’
Florence couldn’t stop herself from laughing. ‘Yes, Grandma, I’ll keep my chin up.’ She had a funny feeling her grandma would get on brilliantly with Ava, and she half wondered if she would have applied to be a dispatch rider herself if she were a few years younger. Her grandma was as fearless as someone half her age, and despite everything they’d been through, she still seemed to get up each day and manage to hold her head high. Recently she’d been told she was too old to be an air-raid warden, and she’d been furious at being turned down.
‘I’m proud of you, Flo,’ her grandmother said, and unexpected tears shone in her eyes. ‘What you’re volunteering for, after everything you’ve been through ...’
Flo took a deep, shuddering breath as unshed tears gathered in her eyes, too. ‘I think it makes me want to do it more,’ she murmured. ‘It’s made me even more determined to help, to do my bit. It can’t be for nothing, everything we’ve lost, it just can’t be.’
‘Well, good on you, my brave girl,’ her grandma said, smiling brightly as she blew Flo a kiss. ‘You go get ’em.’
Florence said goodbye and grabbed her jacket, quickly buttoning it as she hurried from the house, her grandmother’s encouragement ringing in her ears. It had been three weeks since she’d applied, and today they were to report to the ATS Training Centre in Camberley for a test drive and an interview, and although they’d been told to wearappropriateclothes, Florence was most comfortable in her WRN uniform so she’d decided to wear that. The skirt might not make motorcycle riding that easy, but then she didn’t exactly have any suitable trousers to wear, and there hadn’t been any instructions on what was classified as appropriate.
The clouds parted above her and suddenly bathed the road ahead in sunshine as she walked to the station, and Flo smiled up at the sky. When the weather cleared for her, she sometimes liked to pretend it was her family looking down on her, sending her luck, making her feel closer to them somehow. But today, after her little talk with her grandma, the unexpected sunshine only made her miss them more instead of comforting her.
I miss you so much, Mum. Sometimes I can’t get that night out of my head, it’s like I can still feel it, still smell it, still taste the ash in the air. And when I wake in the night, tangled in my sheets and damp with sweat, it’s like I’m there, stuck in that moment, reliving it over and over again. And that’s when I realise that you’re actually gone. That you’re never coming back. That you’ll never hug me again, or talk to me late at night by the fire. That Dad will never be there to walk me down the aisle when I get married. That you’ll never see my children, that they’ll never know their grandmother.
Flo fisted her hands, nails digging into her palms.Today is not the day to go down memory lane. Today is my day to shine, to do something for the war that will make a difference. Today is my day to make you all proud.
She quickened her pace, as if she could outwalk her memories. But it turned out that walking them off was as useless as trying to blink them away.
‘Good morning, Wrens!’ came a booming voice, attached to a hulking great man in uniform who was striding across the field towards them. He was perhaps in his sixties, but his voice belied his age.
They’d all arrived within fifteen minutes of one another and Florence had naturally moved to stand with Ava and Olivia, who, like her, were dressed in their smart WRN uniforms. There were two other girls standing slightly away from them, but the poor things were wearing dresses, and with the wind starting to rise, she was certain they’d be regretting their choice of outfit. She glanced at the groups of Navy boys who’d gathered nearby, their eyes wide at the sight of women waiting on the field. She hoped they wouldn’t be too amused by the driving skills displayed – knowing they were there watching wasn’t going to help her confidence any. Surely they wouldn’t be allowed to loiter once the training commenced?
The booming-voiced man caught her attention again, drawing her gaze from the younger men. He seemed to pause as he approached, looking first at the two women in dresses, before sighing loudly and continuing his walk towards the group. He seemed less than impressed.
‘Good morning, ladies. I’m Commander MacIntosh,’ he boomed. ‘But you can call me Commander Mac.’
‘Good morning, sir!’ they all replied in unison.
‘You’re here today because you’ve expressed interest in becoming motorcycle dispatch riders, and I’m here to see if you’ve got what it takes.’
Florence swallowed, her throat suddenly dry as sandpaper as she listened. Nerves that hadn’t been there before unexpectedly hit her stomach, and she had to fight to keep her shoulders square and her chin raised high. Her bottom lip had started to tremble too, and she clamped her mouth shut tight to stop it.
‘Up until recently men have exclusively filled this role, but we urgently need them to dispatch messages at the front lines, and we can’t get them there fast enough,’ he continued. ‘Some months ago, we recruited a handful of true pioneers in British motorcycle racing, to see if women had the skills to replace our men. I’m pleased to say that those women have paved the way for you all.’ He paused and considered each one of them. ‘It’s because of them that you’re even getting this opportunity.’
Florence tried not to shuffle her feet, but as she found herself the object of Commander Mac’s scrutiny, she started to get nervous all over again. Why was he staring at her? Had she done something wrong? Had he noticed how nervous she was?
‘You,’ he said, pointing at her. ‘Name?’
‘Wren Hughes,’ Florence said, clearing her throat to try to project her voice more loudly.Why is he calling me out before anyone else?
‘You’ve ridden a motorcycle before?’
‘Ah, no sir. I haven’t.’ Her voice faltered as she answered the question. Surely he’d seen her application and would have already known that? She’d made it very clear that she had no experience when she’d filled out the form!
‘You’re up first,’ he said, seeming to disregard her answer as a loud noise reverberated through the air and a woman came roaring towards them on a motorcycle.
Florence jumped at the noise, but Olivia’s hand caught hers, calming her as they watched the performance before them. The woman rode in a big lap around them, going fast on the grassbefore turning sharply and eventually coming to a sudden halt nearby.
‘Ladies, I’d like you to meet Theresa Wallach,’ he said, waving his hand towards the woman, who climbed off the bike and tucked her hat under her arm, giving them all a quick nod. ‘Not only has this young woman previously ridden from London all the way to Cape Town in South Africa, she’s also used to riding a hundred miles an hour when she’s racing. So, when I say you’re up against the best, I mean it.’
What the heck am I doing here?Florence had the overwhelming feeling that she should be making an excuse and leaving, but she forced her feet to stay rooted to the spot. The other girls were inexperienced too; he was only trying to frighten them, to make them see how good they had to be, wasn’t he? There were only a handful of female motorcycle racers in London,surely, so that meant their recruitment pool had to be particularly small. There’s no way he could ever expect them all to be this good!
‘Show her what to do,’ he said. ‘This one is up first.’
‘Yes, Commander,’ Theresa said, giving Florence a quick smile.
