Oral History Gallery

Extract Text (Duration 1.38)

P Fish:  I felt that the Navy was Roger's mistress and when she said, "I need you," he was gone.  You feel like a second citizen, you know, you feel like you're the other woman.  The Navy was his number one mistress and although you was his wife you were the one that took a back seat.

Interviewer:  Mistress in the sense of boss or mistress in the sense of other lover?

P Fish:  Mistress in the sense of other lover.

Interviewer:   Oh.  Then didn't you feel resentful and jealous?

P Fish:  Sometimes I did.  When I was very first married to Roger I did, but then as time went on I realised that this was Roger's life before he met me, this was his career, his chosen career, and you come to the point that if you love this man, which I did, then you've got to respect his wishes, that this is the life that he's chosen, and when the Navy said, "I want you, we're off," you've got to come to terms with it and you do come to terms with it, even though you do resent it.  Because, when you've got a summer night and you see people out with their husbands enjoying themselves with their children and all this and that, and summer days, and where are you?  You're at home with just your own family minus your husband, you do get a bit resentful, yeah.