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My next post was wonderful, Senior Instructor with British Rail at their Staff College in Derby. The salary, two thousand four hundred pounds per annum, which was more than twice what I had been getting with Comben & Wakeling and had for a bonus a free, first class travel, for all the family. I would be completely trained in teaching the railway way at their Teaching College in Dartington on a two months training course. I soon found that this Derby Staff College was a wonderful place to work. the railway protocols and working practices. The Staff College was a wonderful place. All meals were free of charge and what meals they were. Both lunch and dinner had a minimum of three courses and wine to compliment the menu. The college was for intermediate and higher management levels. It sported its own golf club, tennis courts, bowling greens and a variety of indoor entertainment, including a clubroom and bar. Monday morning and Friday afternoons were left free for students to travel. During the summer we had six weeks without lectures and four weeks at Christmas. These weeks gave us plenty of time for preparing future lectures

The downside to this employment with British Rail was the enforced relocation to Derby. It was only when we came to sell our house in Wembly that we were made aware we did not hold any deeds.

We were not the owners after all. The Wakelings repossessed our house!, It almost goes without saying that Pamela’s parents did not want us to move away. It was their opinion that I was just being a fool! for with such a wonderful future ahead with the family firm. Derby they said was a terrible place, an army town and no place to take their daughter. We were forced to take out a new mortgage with the help of my own family together with our own personal savings.

The teaching post in Derby was well paid and we soon obtained a good mortgage enabling us to purchase a three-bedroom house of Wimpey construction. The house was in Mickleover near Derby. There were many advantages in my new post. The free five star meals, together with excellent coffee and tea breaks meant I lived so well I did not require a full meal at night! When the college began Management Training we were asked to attend a five-course dinner once a week at the college and should I have wished it, I could have dined there every evening and some weekends. This was a completely new way of life.

We lived in Mickleover for a few years and it was here that Anne was born in November 1961, this time the birth was at home. What a wonderful experiences that was.

At the time I was taking Flying lessons at the Derby Flying Club, flying a Chipmunk Aircraft out of Burnaston.

On the day in question I was down to fly solo cross country to Leicester and had taxied my aircraft to the fuelling point when the club house had a telephone call from Pamela. Control radioed me and I cancelled the flight and returned to the hanger for Pamela’s labour pains had started and were coming regularly. Naturally I cancelled the flight and returned home to find Pam trying to get upstairs with her waters breaking. Somehow we managed to got her upstairs and into bed before phoning for the Midwife, giving her instructions to hurry.

By the time the midwife arrived I knew the birth was imminent. I stressed the urgency to the midwife but she told me to make some tea and keep calm while she went up to see Pam. I did, as I was told and only moments later I heard screams they were

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