Voices from History
Promoting Harriet's Story and Preserving History
Talking with people about their own stories of the Second World War has been something of an adventure in itself, and not something I'd originally planned for when thinking of taking Harriet on the road.
Initially, it hadn't occured to me that the collection would draw attention from those who were there, and in addition to the many voices from history that I've learned from over the years, including those pilots and other service personnel who served, and took the timr to share their stories with me, I now have some new stories that I've been given permission to share...
Tony
Tony came over to talk with me when he saw Harriet's uniform at the Headcorn BoB airshow in 2025, suggesting with a smile 'I probably knew the person who used to wear it'.
Tony told me about how the only thing missing from the airshow was the white vapour trails that crisscrossed the sky during the Battle of Britain, something he remembered vividly.
He went on to share a story about how one day in late summer 1940, when he was around the age of 6, he was with his family working in the Kent fields just down the road from the airfield, picking hops, as many families did to earn money and food, when a Luftwaffe Messerschmitt 109 came over the hedge of the field so low that the adults ducked. Right behind it was a Hawkere Hurricane, guns blasting, and seconds later the 109 had crashed in the next field.
He brought a photo of himself as a young boy working in the hop fields, with his aunt and great aunt.
Sally B
While at the BoB airshow at Headcorn in 2025, two ladies came to ask if Harriet's uniform was similar to that worn by all pilots in the Second World War.
They went on to explain how their grandad, a pilot from New Zealand and serving under the command of the RAF, was washed up on the south coast, having crashed his B17 bomber in the Channel followinf enemy action. They're not sure if he knew at the time he died aged just 23, but his English girlfriend was newly pregnant at the time, and their dad was born the next year. They only found out about his story when they bought their dad a DNA kit for his birthday in 2024, as he'd always know he was adopted, and they knew he was keen to try and find out about his family. What followed put them in touch with a whole family he didn't know he had, living at the opposite side of the world. A family that didn't even know he existed.
They were very excited to see Sally B, the UK's only flying B17, display at Headcorn, as it connected to their unknown past, and they loved seeing the uniform theyr grandad would have worn (apart from the wings, of course!)
Lara & Candy
"My grandmother had a jacket just like that" the young woman said as she looked at the uniform on display at the WLAC Members Day. "She used to fly Spitfires during the war..."
Lara Atkins is the granddaughter of the great Jackie Moggridge, one of the few female ATA pilots who flew during the Second World War, who flew a total of 500 Spitfires during her career, and went on to be one of the first women to ever be presented with RAF pilot wings after the war. She was also the first ever female commercial airline captain!
Lara and I talked for a while about women in history, and how more needed to be done to bring their stories to the fore, and she later introduced her mum, Candy.
I learned about Jackie Moggridge many years ago, and her story contributed to Harriet's, so it was a particular pleasure for me to meet her family.
Lightning
"Of course, there were no female pilots in the RAF during the war" a lady said with a glint in her eyes after surveying the items I had on display at the WLAC Members Day, and asking about my book.
We talked for a while, and she told me a quite fascinating story of how as a young WRAF (Women's Royal Air Force) officer in 1960 she was frustrated that she wasn't allowed to fly. Aviation was in her blood, with both her father and brother being service pilots, but the door was closed to her as the RAF ended the pathway to women becoming pilots in 1953, shortly after Jackie Moggridge and four other former ATA pilots became the first women to wear RAF wings, and didn't start it again until 1991!
So, one day, the 20 year old WRAF equipment officer seized the opportunity with both hands when the squadron's CO offered to take her flying. She told her Flight Sergeant she was going to do an equipment check, and would be back in a while, and an hour later she was in a T4 English Electric Lightning and pointing straight up, on her way to join the Ten Ton Club as she flew at over 1000mph!
Vive la France
I added an old wartime French army flag to my collection ahead of the WLAC Members Day, it felt appropriate considering Harriet's connection to France, and it brought over a pilot of French descent who was intrigued to know why it was flying.
We talked about the books, and Harriet's life in France, especially how in the first book she escaped to fight with the RAF, and he told me of his grandmother's relative, as young French Air force pilot who, in June 1940 after the French surrender, stole an aeroplane from a German occupied airfield along with three of his friends, and flew across the Channel to join the RAF. He went on to fly in combat over Europe, North Africa, and even the Soviet Union, with both the RAF and Free French. As if this story wasn't fascinating enough, he talked about how this relative's brother, who escaped with him, ended up with the Special Operations Executive (SOE), and parachuted into occupied France as part of a Jedburgh Team sent to whip up the Resistance during the 1944 allied landings.