WITH the war in Iraq entering its second week, these are testing times for the families and friends of servicemen and women posted in the Gulf.

Phillipa Chapman, from Highfield, Tavistock, is looking after her four young children while her husband Peter, a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy, fulfills his military duties in the Middle East.

Peter, 34, was deployed to the Gulf on January 13 aboard HMS Chatham, just five days after the birth of his youngest son Edward.

Phillipa said: ?I?ve had to delay the Christening until Peter comes back. He?s only been with Edward for five days and I know he?ll

really be looking forward to seeing all the children again.?

She said her three youngest children, Caitlin, 4, William, 17 months, and Edward, who is now eleven weeks old, were not old enough to understand why their father was away, but six-year-old Kristopher was very anxious.

Philippa said: ?It?s a very worrying time. It?s different to a normal deployment when you know they will be back on a certain date.

?You try to keep a positive attitude, but it?s hard because at the back of your mind you are wondering if they are going to come back safely.

?My six-year-old is very worried. I tell him daddy will be all right but he asks me how can I really know that for sure. It?s very difficult to reassure him.?

Phillipa said her husband had always wanted to be in the navy and had joined 18 years ago at the age of just 16. He kept in touch with his family via regular e-mails until last Thursday when hostilities began.

?Since then the ship?s captain, Captain Cochrane, has been sending us standard e-mails to let us know Peter is alright,? said Phillipa. ?It?s very reassuring for us to know that Peter is safe and well, even though we can?t communicate with him directly.?

Former Kelly College student Rupert Read, now a sergeant of the Military Provost staff at Colchester, was deployed for action in Iraq about six weeks ago.

Rupert, 33, became a soldier in 1986 and was based in Berlin for four years before serving in the last Gulf War.

His father, well-known Tavistock artist Arthur Read, said: ?Of course there are times when we worry about Rupert?s safety, but I?ve always had the attitude that you don?t join the armed forces to sit behind a desk.

?You join up so you can be called upon to fight for your country in the event of conflict. We try to remain eternally optimistic.?

Rupert?s mother, Jennie said: ?I?m extremely proud of Rupert. You?ve got to take the rough with the smooth when you join the services and that?s just the way it is.

?Inevitably there?s anxiety, but people take chances in life all the time. There?s danger every time someone gets behind the wheel of a car.?

Mr Read said they had last heard from their son just over a week ago when he had telephoned to say goodbye shortly before going into action.

?He said he was attached to the Queen?s Dragoon Guards and had been in the air and on the sea so far, which suggests to me he may be aboard HMS Ark Royal, but obviously he couldn?t be specific,? said Mr Read.

?I very much hope the war will be short and I believe the regime will eventually collapse. Whether they will get Saddam Hussein or not, I don?t know.?

Preb John Rawlings, vicar of Tavistock, said St Eustachius Church was holding three services a day to pray for the safety of

servicemen and women involved in the conflict.

?In any great tragedy or crisis, people want a focus or somewhere to express how they feel,? he said. ?Sometimes they just want to be quiet and reflect on things in their own way and our church is available for them to do that.?

The Naval Personal and Family Service (NPFS) have set up informal drop-in facilities at three of the Plymouth area Royal Naval Community Centres, where relatives and friends of service people can share their experiences and provide mutual support to people in similar circumstances.

NPFS has arranged for further support groups to be set up in Horrabridge and Tavistock.

Families can also receive updates about deployed military units from special telephone information lines.

The numbers for these are as follows: Naval Personal and Family Service 01752 555041; Royal Marine Welfare enquiries and the Sailors and Families Advice Bureau 01752 569696 (9am to 3.30pm daily); Naval supportline 0800 09 26282; Royal Fleet Auxiliary Helpline 0800 01 50301