November 12th 2023.
Harry Pearson and Eileen Pleasants had a chance meeting in a pub before he was shipped off to fight in the Allied push after D-Day. The two of them instantly connected and began to court each other through a series of 32 intimate letters. Discovered after Harry's death five decades later, these letters were then transcribed and preserved by the couple's family.
Harry was 26 and Eileen was 19 when they first met in her local pub, "The Lord Bobs," in Leytonstone, east London. She worked as a telephone operator for the General Post Office, and Harry was a Lance Bombardier with the 110th Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery. Though separated by war, they kept their love alive through their correspondence.
Harry wrote movingly of Eileen being a "glimmer of light from a civilised and sane world," and professed his undying love. Eileen too wrote of her longing to be with Harry, and how proud she was that he picked her out to be his sweetheart. She wrote of wanting to make him forget about the war, and of the 60 years of their lifetime they would have together.
The couple fulfilled their dreams and married in St. Margaret's Church in Leytonstone, London, in 1946. They had succeeding generations of children, and their letters were later given to the University of Oxford for their digital history project, Their Finest Hour.
This Remembrance Weekend, Their Finest Hour is asking members of the public to share stories, memories, and objects about those who served and those who supported Britain's war effort. The project is working to create an online archive of these memories and objects to preserve them for future generations.
Harry and Eileen's story is a testament to the power of love in the face of war. It is a reminder of how in times of hardship and chaos, there is always something to keep us afloat.
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