Your memories: Call-up changed Bill's life

WHEN Bill Pritchard arrived in Granton in the autumn of 1939, he could have had no way of knowing his life was about to change forever.

He had been working as a fisherman in in Suffolk, when the Royal Navy called him up as a reserve to serve in the Second World War He made his way to Portsmouth, and then on to Hull before sailing into Granton on 25 October, 1939.

"We got to shore and I thought I would have a walk into Granton," explains the 89-year-old, who has lived in the port ever since. "I could smell fish and chips and I really wanted some, so I went to Demarco's.

"I was sitting at a table when three girls walked in – Isa, Greta and Eva. They sat down near me and when they saw my hat, with HMS Victory on it, we started chatting. Eventually they walked me down to my boat and they all promised they would write to me – but only Eva did."

For many months, as Bill served his country at sea, Eva Nisbett and he exchanged letters, before they met again on Bill's occasional return visits. Eventually they married in May 1942 in Granton Parish Church.

"I wasn't really a good letter writer," Bill laughs. "But I remember meeting a fortune teller in Africa when I was away and he told me, 'You will marry a girl in the north of the UK', and I did."

Bill, a regular at the city council-run Granton Day Centre, laughs as he recalls his relationship with Eva's mother Jean.

"She was very protective," he smiles. "I remember her saying once, 'Bloody sailors!' to which I replied, 'I am not a sailor – I am a fisherman!'. But when I arrived back in Granton to see Eva once I had been relieved of my duties, Jean came up to me and gave me a big hug ."

Eva passed away in 1991 after nearly 50 years of marriage to Bill in which they had four children.