大象传媒

In 1942 I was stationed at RAF 9 Group Headquarters in Preston working in the Operations Room. My friend and I - both all of 19 years old decided we wanted to go to the Lake District for a couple of days as neither of us had ever been there. So we set off on a nice summer day (in WAAF uniform of course) to hitch hike to Lake Windermere (I hasten to add the lorry drivers in those days were only too delighted to give a lift to anyone in uniform - they had someone to talk to whilst driving). We were duly dropped at Lake Windermere (I think it was Ambleside) after nine in the evening having nowhere to go, so we decided to go to the Police Station to ask if we could stay there for the night. The policeman said to wait a moment whilst he made a telephone call. All we could hear him saying was "I have two young ladies here FAST - YES VERY FAST WAAF GIRLS" When he had finished his conversation I said "What do you mean we are FAST YOUNG LADIES?" Oh dear he said you are misunderstanding the word fast. Up here it means you are stuck and nowhere to go. The outcome was that the lady he had spoken to took us to her lovely home for the night and for the next couple of days we stayed with her and she looked after us and took us round Lake Windermere. When we left we thanked her for her extreme kindness to us and her answer was that her son was a pilot in the RAF somewhere a long way away and she just hoped others would help him out in the same circumstances. I have never forgotten her extreme kindness in taking in TWO FAST YOUNG LADIES into her lovely home.

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