This wedding photograph of my late parents – Ron and Monica Chapman – at St. Stephen’s Church, St. Albans, October 1946, was familiar to me growing up.
After researching my father’s WW2 diary, discovered after both had died, it threw up a number of questions.
My father wears his RAF uniform. But where did my mother get her wedding dress?
In his diary my father mentions buying silk a number of times while stationed in the Middle East. In his photo album he’s pictured outside a silk shop in Manama, Bahrein. He also talks about colleagues doing the same.
Could he have acquired enough silk for his future wife’s big day dress?
Clothing coupons and rationing were in place during the war and continued until well after their marriage.
As an RAF pilot my father had access to parachutes. Once used, parachutes were discarded. Servicemen could take them home.
Just one would provide a huge amount of clothing fabric. After the war, up and down the country many brides made their wedding dresses from parachutes.
Is that where my mother’s dress came from?
Newspapers published stories about dedicated young women determined not to let any fabric go to waste, becoming symbols of resourcefulness and creativity.
Far from being extravagant, wearing such a wedding dress was seen as honouring the service of their men.