Joan Robbins

Civilian

"The opposite neighbours in this road, 2 glamorous women, always got taken notice of. They used a lot of make up and did their hair blond. But they were very decent women and their Mother and Father very protective of their lovely daughters. Joan, the eldest daughter, went to dances where she met Yanks. One (an officer) saw a lot of Joan and took her out a lot. She had to work to help the war effort and went to a local company who made aeroplane wings. Joan, who made all her own clothes, was employed stitching the material used on the planes wings. Her hands became very sore as the material was stiff to sew. Eventually Joan and her officer man got married, going back to the USA after the end of the war in Europe. We thought it was a fairytale romance BUT Joan's husband was a civilian policeman and very different without the glam life he liked to show Joan and her family. Joan had two children in USA but she was badly treated by her Yank husband. He became unkind, hard and gave Joan an awful life. Joan's mother (Mrs Robbins) died in this road so the family broke up- her father died too and Joyce, her sister married an older man who gave her a good life." -Mrs Betty Nicolls on Joan Robbins

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ContributorSJolley
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Letter written by Mrs Betty Nicoll to the American Air Museum, received November 2015.