My parent's marriage in wartime in North Africa

It all happened very quickly. My father, always known as Micky, was serving at Maison Blanche as Senior Air Staff Officer in November 1944 when he had to go into hospital for a small operation on his foot. That evening the nursing sister looking after him reported in the Sisters Mess that there was a Wing Commander Ogden on the ward. My mother, always known as Betty, immediately thought of the handsome young Flying Officer she had known in 1932 who lived at Heswall and was stationed at Sealand whilst she was in training at the Chester Royal Infirmary. She thought he must be more senior than a Wing Commander. Anyway, she arranged to meet him in the mess after he came out of hospital. I was always led to believe that my father was her first love but they were unable to marry as neither earned enough and both had careers to follow.

However, my mother had a major problem on meeting my father again. She was already engaged to be married to a Colonel who was serving in Egypt! To break an engagement was usually scandalous in those days and to cut a long story short, she broke off the engagement and sent back the ring to the Colonel. Then my parents got engaged although I do not think my mother got an engagement ring until they got back to England in 1946.

The matron of her hospital thought this was a "poor show" and my mother was posted "in disgrace" to Naples.

My father fixed the wedding for 14th February 1945 and it took place at the English Church in Algiers as well as a Civil ceremony. My mother had to fly from Naples to Maison Blanche in a Dakota of the US Army Air Force, together with the wedding cake. The American crew thought it was hilarious flying a bride to be and her wedding cake. At the reception at the Officers Mess, my father had even arranged for Champagne which was unobtainable at the time but was able to provide the sugar necessary.

They even had a honeymoon at an Officers Hotel on the Algerian coast for a week and then a week at Fort National in the Atlas Mountains. Then my mother had to fly back to Algiers.
My father flew himself in a Beaufighter to Naples on 21st March to spend a couple of days with
Mum and again on the 2nd April. They were to spend two weeks in Rome in June on a Moral Leadership course. I was born in April 1945 and my sister was to follow in August 1947.

My mother died in 2001 aged 93 and my father in 2002 aged 99.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.