Marjorie met her husband Colin at a dance academy just after the war. They were married in 1949 after he completed his national service with the RAF. Colin worked in the stores as an auditor and was involved in the build-up to the Berlin airlift. After his RAF service, he joined the Rover car company in Birmingham. They were together for 65 years before Marjorie lost him to cancer in 2014.
Association Ambassador Air Vice-Marshal Sean Bell had heard about Colin's illness and his RAF service. He invited him to visit the RAF Club in London but Colin died before he could take up the offer. Instead Sean was invited to read at Colin's funeral and salute the coffin. He subsequently asked Marjorie to tea at the RAF Club and she said they chatted as if they had known each other forever.
The friendship continued with exchanges of letters. Then 94-year old Marjorie got her first computer and iPad and was soon swapping emails with Sean – so far more than 1,000, often on a daily basis.
Sean said: "Marjorie travelled really widely in her life to places like the USA, Barbados, Greece and Finland. But due to age and not being able to move around so much, and insurance and things like that, she was no longer able to."
"I can't change that but what I can do is give something else that can travel the world and she can live through. What we wanted was something small enough that could be packed in a briefcase or hidden away but also big enough to capture a bit of public spirit – and Bertie the Bear came up."
The idea took off. People offered national and international venues and opportunities for Bertie to experience life and give some feedback to Marjorie through a blog. He was even offered a trip with the holder of the land speed record. His adventures provided an insight into the outside world for Marjorie and gave her a distraction from the long lonely evenings since Colin died.
"Colin made me happy for 65 years. When I lost him it was a big hole. It took a lot out of me. It was very difficult," Marjorie remembers. "My life is filled with family and friends during the day. But then you have the evening, and that drags. And if something goes wrong you don't know how to put it right – but Colin would have known. It's like losing a part of you – you feel lost without him. Some people go days and days and days and don't do anything, no conversation, just four walls and the telly – but that's not conversation. Some people get an animal, like a cat, but it's not the same; there's no conversation, no human contact. My evenings are a little bit hard to fill."
"It's amazing – Bertie's just a silly little bear but everyone we asked to look after it has absolutely bought into the whole idea and really embraced it. It took off very, very well," says Sean.
Marjorie adds: "Sean thought of Bertie. He sent the bear and some photos to start him off and he's expanded it. I think a lot of old ladies would be delighted with Bertie and follow it if they've got an iPad or a computer. You sort of enjoy it and feel as if you've been on that adventure with him. When you're on your own, you can fill your time with something stupid! He's just a stuffed toy, but he feels alive!"
Bertie the Bear's blog especially reached out to the lonely or isolated. Hew was described as a bear who loves travelling with unlimited access to adventures. He reported back on his experiences in his blog trying to help 'break the ice' in developing friendship and companionship through the Connections for Life scheme of the RAF Association.
The friendship between Marjorie and Sean is an excellent example of the benefits of the Association`s befriending scheme. The pair email each other regularly and set each other quizzes and topics to research and Marjorie meets Sean for lunch in an Italian restaurant a couple of times a year – what she calls their 'hot dates'!
"Friendship and connection, such as Marjorie now knows, really can make a huge difference to the lives of those left behind, and it is also tremendously rewarding for the volunteer," adds Sean.
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