Living Dangerously
Cód:
491_9781732600508
Living Dangerously begins by telling the story of a young woman and an account of her formative years growing up in a small town in a close knit family and learning about the Black Country not far away. This was the heartland of heavy industry in South Staffordshire.With the Second World War threatening, at the tender age of 18, Betty Farley volunteered for service in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) where her adventures truly begin, and serves her country until the war’s conclusion in 1939.Her story takes the reader on a tour of the British Isles, invariably by steam engine, from Birmingham and on to her numerous postings, London, Oxford, Cornwall, South Wales and Oban, situated on the west coast of Scotland.The backdrop to this book is the war itself, as it was waged by fighter aircraft, frequent bombing raids, V-1 rockets, the London Blitz, the ‘blackout’, set against the metropolitan night-life, partying at The Savoy, the Queensbury Club in Piccadilly, dancing to the sound of the Glenn Miller Band, the jitterbug and the latest music import, jazz!For many women, as well as men, these were also times of both exhilaration and the chance of tasting independence for the first time. Naturally, this led to long-lasting friendships and romantic attachments, especially with British and American forces at a time when the country was awash with US troops, either stationed here or passing through on the way to the European theatre. Betty Farley carries the reader through that time of the run-up to D-Day and the Normandy landings, with vivid descriptions of the preparations to invade Europe.Having fallen in love, the struggle to make a life changing decision about her marriage to an American and leaving her family is a hard choice, and once made there is no looking back. The future holds many surprises, dramas and adventures, but that’s another story. After living in Massachusetts and Michigan she now lives and writes in Key Bis
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