Wartime wedding

The Marriage of Robert Henry Banbury to (Muriel) Joyce Pound. 2nd July 1941.
St Michael’s Church, Albert Road, Stoke, Devonport, Plymouth

Robert (Bob) Banbury married Joyce Pound on 2nd July 1941 at St Michael’s Church, Albert Road, Stoke, Devonport, Plymouth. The ceremony took place in what had been the church hall. The church itself was destroyed by bombing on 21st April 1941 — one of the heaviest air raids of the Plymouth Blitz. The hall was consecrated as a church and remained so until the church was rebuilt in 1953. Bob and Joyce should have been married in May 1941 but Bob was very badly injured in the air raid of 21st April and was too ill for the marriage to take place. He was fire fighting in the Dockyard that night (his “night-time job” — during the day he was a civil servant in the Dockyard) when a bomb fell in the area where he was operating. Of the 20 men in that area only Bob survived. If you look carefully at the photograph you can see that he has his left arm in a sling and his left hand in a splint. What you can’t see is the plaster cast that encased his body from chest to hips or the huge bandaging on his left leg. He returned to hospital immediately after the wedding. He carried the scars of that night for the rest of his life. He had little use of his left hand and arm. There were large chunks of muscle missing from his left arm and leg. His left hand (minus its little finger) had no feeling in it and to protect it from damage and the cold he always wore a specially made glove. He had small pieces of shrapnel from the bomb embedded all over his body. He used to amuse the children by hanging magnets from various locations on his body. It was a sort of “magic party trick”.

Joyce had also played her part in wartime Plymouth. During the Blitz of 1940/41 she worked as a clerk during the day and drove ambulances during the night. These were not proper ambulances but rather old cars with the back cut down to make a platform to carry stretchers. This was covered by a canvas hood. She rarely talked of this work, but when she could be persuaded to mention it, she shrugged it off with the expression. “You don’t want to hear about us ‘bomb dodging’ girls!”

In the photograph with Bob and Joyce are Joyce’s parents (beside Bob). They are Frederick Charles and Amelia Martha Pound. Peering out between Bob and Joyce is Bob’s mother, Emily Mary Banbury. The man beside the tall bridesmaid is Joyce’s Uncle, Reginald Pound. The tall bridesmaid is Sheila Lyon (Joyce’s cousin). The lady behind Joyce and Sheila is Reginald’s wife, Alice. The other bridesmaids are Margaret (taller) and Joan Pound — daughters of Reginald and Alice, and Joyce’s cousins.

At the time of their marriage Bob and Joyce were both 23 years old. They lived in Plymouth all of their married lives. They had two sons, both married and still living in Plymouth.

Joyce died in 1986, aged 68. Bob died in 2001, aged 84.

They were my parents!

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