A LIFELONG city resident whose dream of becoming a journalist was realised as a result of the outbreak of the Second World War has died, writes Natalie Brown.

Vera Wood died peacefully at St Rita’s Care Home in Ditchling on January 2, aged 92.

Vera was born in Firle Road, Brighton, on May 8, 1925, and attended Preston College, where she first discovered a love of writing.

After leaving school at the age of 14 she got a job at The Southern Publishing Company - whose titles included the Evening Argus – in a bid to turn her dream into a reality.

She worked her way up from the phones to transcribing news from ticker tape – a job she said she hated – but just one month into her job at the paper, the Second World War was declared and her dream of becoming a journalist was about to be realised.

With much of the male workforce called up to serve and the paper short staffed, Vera was given the chance to write film reviews and saw her name in print for the first time.

She went on to cover everything from entertainment news to court reporting.

One of her famous stories was the day she went to court but wasn’t allowed in the court room because it was a homosexuality charge, which was still illegal then, and being female it wasn’t deemed appropriate for her to hear the details.

Vera met her future husband Gordon Wood at a dance at St Peter’s Church in Hove when she was 17.

They shared a love of writing and after starting out as a proof reader at The Southern Publishing Company, Gordon went to London, where he worked for the remainder of his career on titles including The Daily Express and Evening News.

The couple married at the church where they first met on July 1, 1944, and the following year the couple’s first child was born.

Vera worked part-time during her first pregnancy but with Gordon commuting to London and family life taking over she reluctantly left her job at the paper.

The couple went on to have six children, moving their growing family from a house they built themselves in Tredcroft Road, Hove, to homes in Woodland Avenue, Berriedale Avenue and Shirley Drive.

When Gordon retired in 1986, they moved to Fulking.

After Gordon’s death in 1996, Vera moved back to Hove to be closer to her family and friends.

Asked what she would change if she had the chance to live her life again, Vera said she would have changed just one thing – the chance to have a career as a journalist and raise a family at the same time.

Vera leaves behind six children, 13 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Her funeral was held at St Peter’s Church in Hove last Friday.