World War II veteran, 102, makes heartbreaking admission while visiting fiancé’s grave 81 years after his death
A 102-year-old WWII heroine has made her debut visit to her late fiancé's grave, 81 years after he was killed in battle.
In the midst of the second World War, Queenie Hall - known by her friends as 'Robbie' - had been dating RAF Flight Sergeant Frank Vincent. The two had known each other for some time, and had actually gotten engaged before Frank was whisked off to war.
Queenie, meanwhile, worked for the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), joining the military movement after lying about her age at 17.
During his time for the WAAF, she plotted with Bomber Command under the authority of Sir Arthur 'Bomber' Harris, with the group having devised a plan to blitz Nazi Germany into submission by targeting the Third Reich's industrial centre.
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Tragically, however, on 25 August 1944, Frank and his Lancaster Bomber crew were killed by the enemy forces.
The bomb aimer, who served with 75 (NZ) Squadron, suffered a mid-air explosion during an overnight raid, along with six of his colleagues.
The aim of the attack was to destroy the OPEL Automotive gearbox assembly plant in Rüsselsheim, though Frank died 78 miles away from the site. The group's aircraft fell from the sky before landing in Nunkirchen.
Along with 3,330 other WW2 heroes, Frank was laid to rest in Rheinberg War Cemetery.
Though Queenie was informed of Frank's passing - having been living with his parents at the time - it would take a further eight decades for the whereabouts of his grave to be revealed.
Eventually, the veteran discovered where her sweetheart and his crew had been buried and Queenie recently visited the site for the very first time.
According to The Express, the woman broke down in tears as she gently touched Frank's gravestone, which bore an inscription of her name.
Having had to idea she'd be referenced on the grave, she told the publication: "When I first looked at it and it said 'our darling Frank' it really upset me. It was very emotional. We were only 21 and engaged to be married."
The tombstone read: "To our darling Frank. Treasured memories. Mum, Dad, Sister, and Queenie."
Queenie had been taken to the site by representatives of The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, leaving a wooden poppy on her late fiancé's headstone.
"Being taken there was like receiving a gift I have waited 81 years to receive," she said.
Speaking of the legacy she forged in her wartime contributions, Queenie continued: "I am sure Frank would be so proud of me because I could do nothing wrong in his eyes.
"He was a very handsome young man and I loved him, what else can I say?"
She also left behind a handwritten message, which read: "To my darling Frank. Loved forever. Never forgotten. Queenie xx."
Looking back on her first love, Queenie recalled their early months together.
"I remember going for a walk one night with Frank, and he held his left arm aloft and waggled his thumb in the air and said: 'You see that thumb? That has killed women and children' and he got awfully upset about it," she continued.
"He was a very decent man with a big heart. He was caring, calm, and a brilliant swimmer who didn’t drink or smoke."
After his plane went down, Frank was initially categorised as 'missing', causing 1945's VE day to be tinged with sadness for Queenie.
"Of course it wasn’t a happy homecoming," she recalled. "They sent me home that day because obviously I was upset and it was difficult living in the same house. If you stop to think about it, which I’ve done in later years, he was shot down.
"Did his plane burst into flames? Did he get burnt alive in the plane as it came down? Did he get killed on impact? Did it burst into flames on impact? What did they find of him?"
Queenie went on to add: "We were both 21. How young we were. What did we know? We hadn’t lived. Liberation for me was tinged with the fact my boyfriend was killed."
Topics: World News, News, UK News
Rhianna Benson