大象传媒

This story has been submitted to the People's War website by Liz Andrew of the Lancshomeguard on behalf of Mrs Betty Carrington and added to the site with her permission.

I was nineteen when the War started and I helped at my parents green grocers shop in Birmingham. It was a lovely old fashioned shop with gleaming well polished fruit.At night I would help at a First Aid Post which was in part of the local school and I helped there until I was called up. Our shop had shutters instead of windows but the glass in the windows of all the other shops was blown in. Everybody helped each other - I remember my dad took in the lady with the sweetie shop and gave her some space in our shop.

I remember a very bad night - it was when Coventry was being blitzed - and we ran out of blankets, which we needed to care for people in shock. So the lady in charge said to me, " You live nearby, Betty, Will your mother let us have some of her blankets?" I was about to leave when she called me back, " Don't go without a steel helmet," she said. So I put a helmet on and set off. It was a bad night and I couldn't decide whether to walk or to run. I decided to run. Straight away I heard a whistling noise. I thought there must be a bomb and that it was following me. But the faster I ran, the louder it came...... It turned out to be the wind in my helmet!

The bombing raids in Birmingham were the worst part of the War for me. My mother's sister and her husband were killed in one of them. They were buried underneath a bombed house and my Dad had to go and help to dig them out. Her husband and his neighbour had been out on Firewatch and had just decide to go home for a cup of tea. They had just been joined at the neighbour's house by my aunt when a bomb hit the house and they were all killed. It was dreadful - she was a lovely person.

I was called up and joined the ATS. I was sent to Leicester to do basic training and we all received the necessary injections and all got some arms. I remember one day we were told to go on parade and that the Princess Royal was coming to inspect us. We stood there for two hours, waiting. One or two girls passed out and the Sergeant Major said, " Wiggle your toes inside your shoes." Eventually the Princess turned up two hours late.

At the end of our basic training we took the usual tests and we were asked what we would like to do. I replied that I'd like to be a driver but they said, "According to these tests, you'd be a good plotter." "What's that, " I asked but they just replied, "You'll find out." The mystery continued - we were picked up in the dark and we had no idea where we were going until we arrived at Stansted Barracks. Here we plotted and collated information gathered form the Ack Ack gunners and from observers on the roof tops. Then I was promoted to corporal and my duties were to help the officers collate information as situations unravelled. I was in the Operations Room when a Doodlebug hit us and we went to emergency status. We had to evacutae the Ops Rooms as fast as possible and then cycle five miles to an emergency operations room. I remember when we got there it was camouflaged underneath a hill and we had to slide down into it.

When VE Day came I was on a course in Durham and I had to join a parade in Durham Cathedral. From there I was posted to Stourbridge to help rehabilitate POWs. We laid on dances for them and had to wear civilian clothes instead of uniform. It was there that I met my husband. He was in charge of the Operations Room.

It's nice to look back on what we went through - but I wouldn't like to do it all again !

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