"No Ordinary War, 1939-1945". A Soldier and the wife he left behind

I inherited a thousand letters that my parents wrote to each other during the war and have written these, along with diaries and may other documents, unique photographs and other artifacts, into their biography. Wartime biographies are often about famous leaders but this is the story of Len Lally, an ordinary soldier, and Gladys, the wife he left behind.

Their story gives a day-by-day account of military ups and downs and dangers. Wider research has added information from men with Len during different phases of the war and from Squadron diaries. Gladys' letters show her fear of the bombing, problems of rationing and day to day life at home. They may have been two ordinary people but this detail brings colour to their lives in a fascinating way.

Len joined the Royal Signals in April 1939, rising to the rank of Sergeant. He was seconded to an RAF Squadron as part of the British Expeditionary Force. He escaped under the noses of the enemy, via Boulogne six days before Dunkirk. He was in Normandy on D Day + 2 and the letters detail his journey across northern Europe to Belgium, Holland and into Germany. He was one of the communications team at Luneburg Heath and witnessed the German surrender. He was then with the first British group into Russian Occupied Germany in June 1945, helping to run the communications for the Potsdam Conference and he tells of life with the Russians in a shattered Berlin. He finished the war in Posen, where German U Boat crews and the SS had been trained, and in Hamburg. This detail fascinates, as does Len's pouring out of his day-to-day ambitions, boredom, excitement and frustration at not being in control of his family at home.

Uniquely, the story also details the life of Gladys, his unwell, nervous and lonely wife, left behind in London during the blitz. They were married by special licence in February 1940. She was a Switchboard Supervisor for Wimpey's, the construction company, who fought off her call-up because she was a vital part of their business. Her letters tell of her work, shopping, shortages, hospitals, entertainment, strained relationships and the unexpected birth of her first child.

Through this story you can see into the private lives of ordinary people. How would you have coped in their situation?