There are many reports of marriages between local women and soldiers of the Parachute Regiment and other allied servicemen during 1944.
On 8th September 1944, such events made a big splash on the front page of the Melton Mowbray Times, with no less than five weddings being featured! Below are two of the personal stories of the couples.
Wartime weddings were rarely extravagant affairs, and brides would often be married in a smart suit, or dress and coat, rather than the elaborate 'white wedding dress' more common today. Lillian Mary Jaggard wore a burgundy velvet dress with matching hat, while Nancy Leach wore a tailored pale blue woollen dress and navy accessories.
Private Frederick Thomas can only have been in Melton for about four months before he married local woman Ethel Mary Woollam on 8th June 1944, whilst stationed near here with the 3rd Battalion. Both were born in 1919. Frederick had joined the Green Howards – Alexandra, The Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment, was evacuated from France at Dunkirk in 1940 and fought in the Middle East, being injured in the Libyan Campaign. He joined the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment in Benghazi in 1943, and returned to England in December to start training for European operations.
Acton Gazette, 24 November 1944
As well as marriages, there were also engagements during this time.
Lance corporal James Kelly (Parachute Regiment) of Liverpool got engaged to Miss Ivy Dumelow (Women's Land Army) of Leicester.
There were also many less formal liaisons between the visiting Paras and the local girls as evidenced in this family detective story in the son's own words:
My name is Robert Wade and I was born in Somerby in February 1945 as a result of a liaison between my mother and a Paratrooper billeted at Knossington whilst awaiting deployment to Arnhem.
My mother very rarely spoke about my biological father and the odd bits of information I did learn was mainly from my Uncle Jim Finn, who was also a Paratrooper.
My mother died in 2014 and just a few weeks before she died, completely out of the blue, told my wife that she had taken my biological father to Court for maintenance just after I was born. She was awarded maintenance of seven shillings and sixpence a week.
My wife visited the Record Office at Wigston to obtain a copy of the Court Order which showed the name Ernest Stone, together with his army number 3910149, and also admitting paternity.
We visited the NEC at Birmingham which was holding a "Who Do You Think You Are" exhibition. The Army Records Office team looked him up and found his date of birth allowing my wife to find Ernest on the 1939 register as living in Wrexham at that time. For added confirmation that this was the right person, Ernest's army number was also recorded on the register.
Unfortunately, Ernest had died in 1970 but on sending for his death certificate I learnt that I had a half-brother living near Cardiff. Contact was made and we now have a very warm and friendly relationship.
At the age of 70, I was finally able to see a photograph of my birth father.
John O'Reilly 156 Battalion Melton Mowbray
This photograph shows Vera Margaret Robinson (known as Margaret) as a 17-year-old serving in the Women's Land Army and Sergeant John O'Reilly serving with 1st Parachute Battalion at Grimsthorpe Castle.
When Margaret was 19, she transferred from the Land Army and joined the NAAFI, taking up employment at Newport Lodge where members of the 156 Battalion Parachute Regiment were billeted.
One night whilst the paratroopers were out on a night training exercise just prior to Arnhem (Operation Market Garden), Maragaret left the blackout blinds open so that the paras out on manoeuvres could see the NAAFA was still open when they got back.
However, this did not go down too well, especially with John O'Reilly, who at the time was a Lance Corporal with 156 Battalion at Newport Lodge due to the air raid precautions.
There was an argument between Margaret and John who whacked his stick down on the counter and told her to get them closed. However, following this altercation, a relationship blossomed and the couple were married in Nottingham in 1946 and spent the last years of their life in Whatton-in-the-Vale in the Vale of Belvoir
John O'Reilly of 156 Bn and Margaret Robinson of the WLA/NAAFI
