It’s My Mum Wot Won It

It is one of WW2’s best-kept secret that it was won by a Twentysomething housewife, rather than Churchill, Stalin and Rooseveldt or Monty, Zhukov and Ike. My Mum, Betty Stockdale, wife of a Colonel serving with the Eighth Army was single-handedly responsible for the outcome of the War.

Betty lived for most of the duration with her parents in Bromley, Kent. The early stages of the war went badly for the allies. But it was only during the Battle of Britain that they all noticed that if Betty was there when they listened to the news on the radio, a disaster or defeat would be reported. After that she was sent out of the room and the run of news got better. Consider the evidence.

· Battle of the River Plate (absent in Town)
· Dunkirk (listening carefully as her husband-to-be, Rex, was being evacuated)
· Fall of France (hanging on every word)
· Battle of Britain (bad days in the room, good days elsewhere)
· Pearl Harbour and the sinking of the Prince of Wales (came into the room too soon by accident)
· Fall of Tobruk (thought it was all superstitious nonsense and she should start listening again)

And on the plus side El Alamein, Stalingrad, D-Day. As history marched on she continued her self-denying ordinance with a little blip at Arnhem when she thought she could ease up a bit. On 8 May 1945 she defied the fates and listened to Churchill’s speech announcing the end of the War — which may be one of the reasons its end is commemorated one day later in the Soviet Union.

Modest to a fault, my old Mum would never claim the glory due to the sacrifice and efforts of the servicemen involved - though that didn't stop the generals. For her, no statues, no peerage, no pension. But maybe the time has now come to recognise the amazing contribution this frustrated news-junkie made.

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