A Sweater Knit by a Bride-to-Be
This knit sweater was on display in Bletchley Park. There is no connection to codebreakers. It was knitted for the contributor's father by her mother who otherwise hated knitting. This Fair Isle waistcoat was knitted in February 1943 for Arthur John Gloys by his bride-to-be Joan Lilian Cartwright. Arthur came to Coventry from the Rhondda Valley in South Wales for war work in a factory but was called up to be a 'Bevin Boy' and worked in a local mine. Joan was born and lived her whole life in Holbrooks, Coventry. They met in an air raid shelter in 1940 and married at St Giles' Church on April 8, 1944.
The waistcoat was knitted from darning wool because it did not need rationing coupons; it cost 15 shillings 75p in decimal currency. It was worn by Arthur all through his life and for the last time at St Luke's Church Memorial Day Service in 2010 when Joan and Arthur gave a talk about their war experiences to the Scouts, other organisations, and the congregation.
Arthur died in March 2011 five weeks before his 90th birthday and after almost 67 years of a very happy marriage. Joan died in April 2016; she was almost 91.
