Since 1999, every week without fail I’ve received a phone call from a lady called Norah. She’s a soldier at Barnet Corps in north London and I first met her in 1999 when she appeared at our London Headquarters asking to speak to the Territorial Commander.
As Private Secretary to the Territorial Commander I dutifully went down to reception to speak to her. I explained that the Commissioner was busy and so could not come in person but that I would relay whatever it was she wanted to him. It turned out she simply wanted Commissioner Gowans to have her mother’s song book as she had been promoted to glory the week before. Her parents were Brigadiers and had spent many years on IHQ before retiring to Barnet. Norah was their only child. I took her mother’s song book and returned to my office where I typed a simple thank you letter for Commissioner Gowans to sign. I posted it not expecting to hear anymore from her. How wrong I was!
The following day she rang me in the office. I talked for a few minutes before explaining that I needed to get on with my work. The next day she called again and to cut a long story short she has called me most weeks ever since. At least on HQ she only had my office number. Imagine my surprise in Australia when one day I picked up the phone in my quarters in Sydney to hear the phrase, “Hello Captain Allman – it’s Norah speaking”. She had managed to get my phone number from THQ in Sydney!
On my return to the UK, she plagued Southern DHQ most weeks wanting to speak to me and here in Gloucester she rings frequently both the quarters and the office. Jackie almost knows her as a long lost friend now! She sends us all cards on our birthdays and sends gifts for the girls at Christmas, Easter and for their birthdays. I’ve not heard from her for a few weeks and so assumed she was on her annual holiday with her Over Sixties Club to Paignton. On Saturday night I received an e-mail from my friend, Major Jeanne van Hal, a retired Dutch officer who I worked with on IHQ. Norah rang Jeanne too, every week in Amsterdam. Jeanne simply wrote to let me know that she had contacted the officer at Barnet as she had not heard from Norah for weeks. The CO informed her that Norah had been promoted to glory on May 15. Norah died of a heart attack only two days after telling Clare she was having heart palpitations.
On those weeks she seemed to be ringing me all the time I had to remember she had lovely qualities too. She never met my girls but loved them like she had. Her little prayer cards were always an encouragement. It will be strange not to hear those dulcet tones anymore telling me of her cat’s latest ailments. In truth, the news of her promotion to glory left me quite shocked and sad. She was everything Paul was speaking of when he used the illustration of the jar of clay to describe himself in 2 Corinthians 4. She was a fragile little thing in her own way but she had the treasure. She had no family of her own and so the Army was her family. I’m quite sure she has her eternal reward now with her Lord. Simple Salvationism – what you saw with Norah was what you got! What a lesson to teach us all.
Every blessing, Major Adrian