the WAAF, Lizzie had never been this close to the aeroplanes themselves; even the compact fighters seemed huge compared to how they looked in the air.
As she stood admiring the display, a Spitfire turned away from her down the runway, and she held on to her hat as it moved past her with the swift blast of air from the propeller. Walking her out onto the airfield, he headed towards a row of other aeroplanes that were parked. They arrived at one that was nondescript, without the usual camouflage colours of war.
‘I thought you might like a little joy ride,’ he announced. Lizzie looked up at him with surprise. And then back at the trainer aircraft. There were two seats in it for training, unlike his Hurricane, which only had one seat.
‘We’re going up in this plane?’ she said, with shock.
‘We are,’ he said with a smile. ‘We borrowed this from 12 Group, and it needs to be returned. Wing Commander asked me if I’d be willing to fly it up to Coltishall over the weekend, and as I was due time off, I requested to take a guest, and by a miracle, he agreed. Come on, let me help you in.’
Lizzie’s stomach clenched with anticipation. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined flying in an aeroplane, even though she spent most of her days talking about them or guiding them. The actual thought of flying above the clouds was unbelievable. Jack helped her into the seat and buckled her in. He gave her a headset to wear so he could speak to her. Securing himself in, he pulled down the canopy and giving a thumbs up to the ground crew that appeared to remove the chocks they began to taxi down the runway. Lizzie couldn’t control her enthusiasm.
‘Jack, this is unbelievable!’ she squealed as she looked around her.
‘Well, you’re easily pleased,’ came back the voice in her headset. ‘We haven’t even left the ground yet,’ he added with a laugh.
‘I never thought I’d ever do anything like this. Wait till I write to my cousins. They won’t believe it.’
The plane started to gain speed, and Lizzie gripped her seat straps as it sped towards the end of the runway. She’d never moved so fast in her life and feared that it wouldn’t get off the ground in time, and she held her breath. Just when she thought they were going to crash into the hedges at the end of the runway, she felt the plane lift beneath her, taking her stomach with it, and an enormous pressure bore down on her chest as it climbed into the air. Lizzie couldn’t quite believe it. It was exhilarating and frightening, all in the same moment. The noise of the plane’s engine roared in her ears, causing the inside of the plane to vibrate with the pressure. Lizzie was pinned back in her seat as the plane headed through the clouds, bumping its way through the heavy air. It continued its ascent as swirls of white surrounded the plane, making it impossible for her to see anything around her, and it reminded her of the thick fog that sometimes descended on the loch at home in the evenings. It gave her that same sense of isolation as it did in Scotland, as if she and Jack were utterly alone, the only two people cocooned in a magical world.
All at once, they broke free of the cloud, and she sucked in a breath with surprise as above, the sky was blue. She instantly relaxed, unable to believe the feeling of calm, of beauty, of total serenity. No wonder Jack loved this so much. Down below, it had been grey, and the clouds had been dark and heavy, but up here there was nothing but a china blue sky, illuminated by the fiery globe of the sun, whose rays glinted across the wings and warmed her face.
‘Jack, this is amazing,’ she gushed into her headset.
‘It’s nicer when the enemy is not chasing you,’ he responded, laughing. ‘I feel very fortunate to be a pilot. We get to see the world from a very different perspective.’
As they made their way north of London, Lizzie settled, lulled by the roar of the engine and the beauty of the sky. Below her, fluffy white pillows of clouds rolled out ahead of her as far as she could see. Occasionally they cleared so she could peer down at the ground. She was spellbound by how different