大象传媒

As Audrey Jackson I lived at Three Tuns Inn Barlestone. I was very happy in my home and job. When I was 18yrs I was conscripted in one of the services RAF- ECT. As my parents had a pub I thought if I join N.F.S. I was to stay local to help. (My boyfriend Bill was missing later) (Jap prisoner) Anyway my friend Joan and myself joined N.F.S. We were stationed at Mkt Bosworth, later to Hinckley. Every thing was good. It was run on army lines, Marching ECT. Then we heard we had to transfer to the South Coast. Joan and myself were taken to (Lancaster Place Fire Station) We caught the train in the night to London. The train stopped outside London. An Air-Raid was on and srapnal hit the train. We were scared. We landed in London and taken to a very large fire station where an officer was sending girls to stations along South Coast. I was very brave (and scared) and asked if Joan and I could stay together. She must have thought we were poor things because the lorry dropped us both off at Hove Fire Station. A fireman on the switchboard said you poor little things. We worked hard as telephonists. Joan left to get married and I didn't get a leave for 5 months, because the invasion was near I was sent to Caterham in (Surrey) to releive some girls. It was awful when the Dugle Bugs came day and night (I was pleased it was only for 10 days). We all thought it was Hitler invading us, but thank goodness it was us going into France. We were stationed next to a railway station and the tanks came off day and night, Sacville Road, Hove, Brighton looked like an ice rink, with the tanks coming down.
You don't often see about the N.F.S. girls, but they did their best.
My boyfriend came back, we got married and had a happy 40 years together. My husband Bill Branson was P.O.W. with Tommy Wadsworth. Tommy and Bill were great friends.

'This story was submitted to the People's War site by Sara-Jane Higginbottom of the CSV Action Desk Leicester on behalf of Audrey McPheator and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.'

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