Page 7 - William B. Lake

Bill commenced teaching at Tarana Public School after he had taken the Aug-Sept holidays (which
he spent in Sydney). His official start date at the school in Tarana was in early Sept 1940. Bill met
his future wife Daphne Mary James during a return visit to Kempsey. Daphne was the Sunday
School teacher at the All Saints’ Anglican Church.

Bill and Daphne got engaged in May 1941 while Dad was still working at Tarana Public School.
But during this period the war in Europe intruded into their lives and they were required to make
some crucial decisions about their immediate future.
Their wedding was originally planned to be held in mid-1942. However, the bombing by the
Japanese naval aircraft of Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941 brought a sudden change to their
th
plans. Their wedding day was brought forward to Boxing Day 1941 and following a brief
honeymoon Bill returned to Tarana Public School with Daphne, while he awaited his call-up for his
initial training in the RAAF.

Bill & Daphne’s Wedding Photo on Boxing Day 1941

Bill and Daphne returned to Tarana for the first part of the 1942 school year (see below). He had
only a few months before his call-up for RAAF training. Prior to his enlistment Bill had been
teaching for 7 years (including his two-year student-teacher period at Pappinbarra).