PRESIDENT Margaret Coulson welcomed members to the October meeting. After announcing details of outings and dates for the various activities during the month the speaker was then introduced, Margaret Roy, who gave a talk entitled Letters from a Submariner.

The story began when her husband’s aunt Evelyn died aged 98 having lived in the same house for over 40 years.

Among the memorabilia was a bundle of letters labelled Hugh’s letters. Who was he?

Evelyn had never married.

Through Hugh’s letters and Evelyn’s wartime diaries a story emerged of a friendship. They met in 1940 on board the ship Samaria, Hugh coming to England to join the forces and Evelyn returning from teaching in a summer school in America.

Hugh was drafted to the submarine service and saw action in the Mediterranean in the Osiris and subsequently the Turbulent.

He wrote monthly to Evelyn and the last letter was dated February, 1943. On March 23, 1943, information was received that Turbulent failed to return to Algiers “and must be considered lost”.

Mrs Roy was able to find Hugh’s next of kin and that he originated from Johnstone in Scotland, spent time in America and in April 1941 married Roberta Ritchie, who lived until 2000.

Mrs Roy wrote to the nephew who knew he had an uncle lost at sea during the war. Copies of Hugh’s letters were sent to the nephew, the originals being sent to Navy records at Portsmouth.