The sisters, Linda Robinson, who lives in Warwickshire, and Patricia West from Gloucestershire, visited the airbase earlier this year to re-kindle memories of their late parents.

Their mum, Margaret Singleton, who was in the WAAF, left the air force in 1944 after she met and married their dad, Charles Campbell Henderson, who was from Glasgow, but was stationed, like her, at Kinloss.

Their mum died a couple of years ago, but it was after their dad died in July, aged 88, that they started to think about how their parents met and decided they would like to visit the Forres area which their parents loved, and made their home for nearly two years.

They contacted RAF Kinloss and were delighted to receive a call telling them they would be welcome to visit the base, with a member of staff provided to accompany them.

During their visit to Moray, they were able to see some of their parents' old haunts, and also visited the base, including the bomb dump and the armoury where their father worked.

"Our parents lived in the area for more than 18 months," said Linda. "We went and visited the street where their house was. It was called Orchard Cottage."

The pair said that a nearby resident was able to tell them that the cottage was near the war veterans' garden on Orchard Road, but she believed that it had since been demolished.

They also had pictures which their parents had kept, including their father sitting on the wing of an aircraft, and their parents' wedding photo, which showed the pair of them in uniform.

The girls' children have also brought some of their family history out into the open, by carrying out a project about "war memories" which they were able to do using some of the information gleaned from their grandad.

They said that Charles had about 10 years' service in the armed forces, joining the boys' service in 1937. He was able to tell them about the war and his memories about the build-up to D-Day.

The girls said they remembered their dad as a bit of a character, who had learned to box as a boy and went into the ring during his military career, winning various medals and trophies, as well as a permanent bump on the nose which served as a reminder of his skill.

"He was originally from Laird Place in the Gorbals," said Pat. "After leaving the RAF, he helped build up the family business as a scrap merchant and did quite a bit around the local community. His family were quite well known."

The girls, who were born in Glasgow, said that after making his fortune their dad sold the business, aged 40 and the family moved away from Glasgow.

Sisters Linda Robinson, who lives in Warwickshire and Patricia West from Gloucestershire, pose for a picture near the War Veterans' Garden on Orchard Road which is located near where "Orchard Cottage" used to stand, home to their parents around 1944.

"Mum used to say we had emigrated to Jersey," said Linda. "She wanted to go there and not somewhere further afield, because there were no spiders."

The family enjoyed a good life, while their parents ran a series of hotels, which they would take over, make a success of and then sell.

The girls remembered that they were also able to enjoy warmer climes in Jersey. "I can remember that dad would pick us up after school," she said. "We would go to the beach and have a swim. We were really lucky."

She said one of the most poignant memories of their dad, which served to remind them of his military past, was a poem that he wrote when he was in the RAF, about the war, which clearly showed how he felt about the fact that friends and colleagues went away and didn't come back.

"The bravery of people like our parents was there for everyone to see," said Pat. "He was a big, gentle giant and the poem is very sad."

During their visit to Forres, the sisters went to Clovenside Cemetery where a baby born to their parents, but who later died, is buried.

"He was called Brian Charles," said Pat. "He died on November 11 – just three weeks after being born. Mum and dad never really talked about it, but it must have been horrendous for them."

They said their parents also lost a second baby, who was born in Rothesay.

The sisters said that their parents made their home in Forres until their dad came out of the forces, and he always spoke fondly of his time at Kinloss and his friends.

"We are very proud of what they did and how they met," said the sisters, who added that they were glad to have visited the area and be able to imagine their parents' life there, and also to have the opportunity to lay flowers on the grave.

t.mclaren@forres-gazette.co.uk

This wartime picture of bride and groom, Margaret Singleton and Charles Campbell Henderson, second left and right, dates back to 1944 when the pair who were stationed at Kinloss met and married. The others in the picture are unknown.

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