Carol Lockwood, now 84, never met her father, Flight Lieutenant Alfred 'Ginge' Culver DFM, who disappeared during a search and rescue mission over Iceland on September 2, 1942. She was just eight weeks old at the time. Decades later, after her mother Olive's death in 1992, Carol discovered a cache of letters that revealed her father's heartfelt wish for her to find a love as deep as his for her mother.
The Disappearance Over Iceland
Ginge, along with three other airmen and renowned war artist Eric Ravilious, vanished while searching for a missing Hudson aircraft. The plane took off at 5:30 am on September 1, 1942, under what were supposed to be good weather conditions. Two other planes returned, but Ginge's did not. There was no radio contact, no mayday, and no wreckage ever found. The incident remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of World War II.
Carol recalled: 'Three planes took off, the weather was supposed to be good. There's no radio contact at all. Two planes returned, Ginge's plane didn't. There was no radio contact, no mayday, absolutely nothing. It's a mystery to this day why nothing was ever heard about it. No oil slip, no wreckage, absolutely nothing. It's one of the great mysteries of the war.'
The Letter Discovered After 50 Years
Among the letters was one dated August 1, 1942, in which Ginge expressed joy at learning of Carol's birth. He wrote: 'I've received a load of letters and the birth news of Carol Mary, she sounds absolutely spiffing and I can't wait to meet her. I love you.' He continued: 'She obviously has my good points; I wouldn't let it worry you unduly. Later she will probably take after you, snaring unwary men and probably proposing to them. Not to mention, of course, that she will most probably likely be immodest to the point of indelicacy. However, if she finds someone to love her half as much as I love you my sweet, I shall welcome the lucky man with open arms. I love you.'
A Love Story That Endured
Carol did find that love. In 1959, at Maidstone Sailing Club, she met Derek Lockwood. They married on July 15, 1961, at Loose Church, the same site as her father's war memorial and where her mother is buried. Now 88, Derek jokes about their early courtship: 'Loitering with intent.' The couple celebrated their Blue Sapphire anniversary in 2026, having been married for 65 years. They have two sons, Ian and John, and six granddaughters.
When asked the secret to a long marriage, Carol said: 'One or other of us will say, neither of us wanted a divorce on the same day. To which the reply usually is 'Sometimes it's got pretty close, five to 12 and five past 12 but we've never actually managed to want a divorce on the same day.'
A Pilgrimage to Iceland
In 2014, Carol and Derek traveled to Iceland to mark the anniversary of Ginge's death. They visited a waterfall he had described in his letters as 'spiffing,' which he had promised to show his wife. Carol said: 'I stood by that waterfall that he would have shown Ma, had things turned out differently. It really hit me when we took off in the plane to come home, we came south over the sea and I looked down on that dead, grey sea, and thought: Somewhere, at the bottom down there, there's still a plane with five skeletons in it. That's when it really hit me.'
Ginge's logbook recorded 1,950 flying hours at the time of his death. He was due for promotion to squadron leader and was set to return home in October 1942, just weeks after he disappeared.
