The memories of a Tewkesbury G.I. Bride have been included in an American book’°, which was given to Tewkesbury School by Mary Burkett, whose maiden name was Mary Smith, of the shop at 22, Abbots Road, Priors Park, Tewkesbury.

    In 1942 Mary Smith was sixteen years of age, and was working with Miss Day at

Tewkesbury Post Office. She recalled in a recent letter that she met her future husband in October

1942. He was Howard Strombeck, a first Sergeant with B. Co., 346 Engineers. He was stationed in Tewkesbury for only three months before his transfer to Northampton to build U.S.A.A.F. runways. Mrs. Burkett’s account is piquant: “He had been assigned to accompany a Lieutenant to the Post Office each day to purchase money orders, which was my job.” He asked for dates for several weeks, “even resorted to bringing most of the money in pennies to spend more time talking to me until I finally agreed to go out with him.”