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Second World War soldier's love letter sent to wife discovered by Maidstone daughter and transformed into moving song

18:01, 25 February 2020

updated: 20:45, 25 February 2020

A love poem sent by a soldier to his wife during the Second World War has been transformed into a moving ballad after it was discovered by their daughter.

Sue Plummer, who lives in Maidstone, found the hand-written poem, along with a collection of photos and medals, when looking through an old box filled with her late mother's possessions.

A Second World War love poem has been put to music to produce an original song

She soon realised it was a letter written by her father, Reginald Hall. Although it's not dated, Sue believes it was sent back to England from Egypt and when Reginald would have been in his 20s.

Sue, a 61-year-old director of medical science at Canterbury Christ Church University, said her father died of lung cancer in 1963 when she was just five, and her mother, Eileen, found it too painful to talk about him, so she knows little of their past.

However, she believes the pair met in north London in their early 20s, and got married in 1944, upon Reginald's return from a three-and-a-half year stint in the Middle East.

Reginald was a sergeant in the seventh armoured division known as the Desert Rats, and was also stationed in Africa, Italy, and Germany during his army career.

Reginald and Eileen on their wedding day
Reginald and Eileen on their wedding day

Eileen served as a Private in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

When the war ended, the family lived in Cockfosters, with Sue and her mother moving to Herne Bay after Reginald passed away.

Sue studied nursing in Medway as a young woman and later moved to Maidstone. Eileen passed away in 1994 aged 74.

Sue said: "As you can imagine I am so very proud of them. Goodness knows what my father had to go through.

"It was a miracle he survived and so tragic he died relatively young after finally becoming a father.

"I remember my dad was a very kind man. He was tall and well-built. I remember him picking me up from school and taking me on bus trips in the city."

Reginald pictured during his time in the army
Reginald pictured during his time in the army

The poem, entitled Our Rendezvous reads:

Think of me dearest when morning comes,

And you face another day,

In the midst of the strife and the turmoil,

My fugitive thoughts turn away

To the place of my dreams

To the place where you wait

In the land across the sea

My own land my homeland the dear old land of England

Our rendezvous can you hear me call

Oh precious to you and to me

Think of me dear when evening falls

Say a prayer to the one above

And pray for pray for the day

Our rendezvous can you hear me call

When if god be willing once more

We will laugh at love

Fail not to come to our sweet rendezvous

Reginald and Eileen with their only child, Sue
Reginald and Eileen with their only child, Sue

Talking about when she found the poem, Sue said: "There was a huge amount of stuff left when my mother died and I hadn't looked through it all.

"I had a look through over Christmas and it was incredible when I found the poem and very emotional of course."

Sue often works with her friend and musician, 59-year-old Dennis Potter from Rochester, producing songs together.

When she showed Dennis her father's poem, he put the loving words to music on the same day.

She said: "Dennis is such a talented writer. I think he sounds a bit like Phil Collins."

The song has been shared on YouTube, played over a slide show of old photographs.

Dennis and Sue have written multiple songs together
Dennis and Sue have written multiple songs together

The pair also released a song titled Santa's Grate Christmas in 2018, and last year, worked alongside Age UK, writing a moving song about a lady with dementia to raise funds for the organisation.

Another track, Lighting the Way, which tells the story of losing a baby, was written to raise money for baby trauma charity, Making Miracles.

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Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone

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