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Peggy & John
John Skelton was born in 1924 in Felixstowe but his father soon left his family, never to return. So John and his siblings spent much of their childhood with their grandparents in Felixstowe, a popular middle-class seaside resort before the war. Eventually though, John and his brother returned to live with their mother and stepfather in Dagenham, Essex. The contrast between the rural childhood and life in the Essex suburbs is finely drawn.
John left school at 14 and went to work as an office boy. He met Peggy, the woman who was to become the love of his life, when he was 16 and Peggy was 18. She was an only child, a trained classical solo pianist who played in front of large audiences. When the Second World War came in 1939, her career was finished, as were many people’s.
In the early years of the war, John joined the Navy and spent 13 months in northern Iceland helping to install a secret radar station. He also sailed to Malta to relieve the wartime siege there, and gives an emotional and startling first-person account of a little-known aspect of the war.
Peggy and John married on 4th November 1944, and they shared sixty-six extremely happy years together. The memories of their holidays and travels, and the stories of their four children growing up, form the beating heart of this touching love story.
John left school at 14 and went to work as an office boy. He met Peggy, the woman who was to become the love of his life, when he was 16 and Peggy was 18. She was an only child, a trained classical solo pianist who played in front of large audiences. When the Second World War came in 1939, her career was finished, as were many people’s.
In the early years of the war, John joined the Navy and spent 13 months in northern Iceland helping to install a secret radar station. He also sailed to Malta to relieve the wartime siege there, and gives an emotional and startling first-person account of a little-known aspect of the war.
Peggy and John married on 4th November 1944, and they shared sixty-six extremely happy years together. The memories of their holidays and travels, and the stories of their four children growing up, form the beating heart of this touching love story.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published February 26, 2015
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