Former Wren recalls love at first sight on Remembrance Day

Rae Porter, who lives at Talbot View care home in Ensbury Avenue, joined the Wrens (Women’s Royal Naval Service) at age 19.

She went for six weeks of training at HMS Dauntless near Reading, then HMC Ceres in Yorkshire, and was later sent to work at HMS Raleigh in Cornwall, where she was given the role of a writer, helping with clerical and administrative tasks.

She said: “Being in the Wrens was some of the best days of my life as it’s where I met my husband. It was such a happy time, so now Remembrance Day brings back happy memories of meeting my husband. He was so lovely.”

She added: “Derrick was a bugler in the Royal Marines. He played The Last Post at a Remembrance Day service that around 80 of us Wrens attended. The next day I saw him again and asked if he was the bugler that had performed the day before and in return he asked my name. The day after that he came into the captain’s office to chat to me. It was meant to be.”

Rae and Derrick embarked on a whirlwind romance, first meeting in November 1953, getting engaged in January, and then marrying three months later in April 1954. Rae then left the Wrens to join Derrick as he was posted with the Royal Marines to Malta. Derrick eventually left the Royal Marines to join the police service in Bournemouth.

Rae and Derrick went on to welcome their son, Michael, and daughter, Jill. They enjoyed many happy years together before Derrick died earlier this year, just before their 70th wedding anniversary.

Talbot View care home will host its own Remembrance Day service this Sunday, November 10.

The care home will welcome local schoolchildren to chat with the residents about their memories of wartime, as well as enjoy live music and cream teas with the community.

Neil Dominy, home manager at Talbot View, said: “Rae loves talking about her memories of being in the military and meeting her husband Derrick, who was a familiar face at Talbot View during his frequent visits to see her.”