大象传媒

I was born in Inida:this is important later. Ijoined the WRNS in April 1941. I was sent to Falmouth, which has a wonderful harbour and where the destroyers and corvettes which had been escording convoys across the Atlantic came
in. I was in the Signal Office, which was housed in the kitchen of a hotel which had been taken over as a Naval Bae. We typed the lists of stores which the Naval ships needed. There were around twelve of us and we worked in shifts. Above the Base was a barrage balloon which caught the sun when we came off duty at eight o'clock. The man in charge of us was Chief Yeorman of Signals Andrew Brown, he had fought ine First World War, so must have been in his latefifties. He regarded The Base as his ship and never went out except to get his hair cut.
One morning he arrived to find The
Cypher Qeens, who worked upstairs, had not decoded a signal which had come in dutring the night. Chief stood ove them while it was
decoded: he knew it was something important. It waid that a convoy was sailing into a mine-field. (The Germans droppedf midgit mines on parachutes). The conbvoy must be stopped, but how? A morse signal direct to the leading ship would be picked up by the Germans.
Chief ran to the Duty Officer, then came back to the Singal Office, looking ray and haggard. Was the convoy about toblow up?
"I'll get Bill on the phone" he said at last, "he can signal them with his Aldid Lamp."
So Bill, far away on some headland facing the English Channel, got out his lamp and sent a message in code to the convoy. The convoy was saved!
In the summer of 19423, I volonteered to go abroad. Service women were being sent to Africa and Australia. We had no idea where we would be sent.
After several frustrating months, we were finally sent to a big house in London. We were issued with tropical kit and urged to make our wills. We were urged to leave money to th WREN Association: none of us had any money, so it was a wawsted exercise.
We enjoyed London: one could go to St James's Palace and get free tickets. If we did'nt like the play we would get out our writing thing and write home.
Finally, after months of waiting, we boarded a train and went to a port where we boarded a troopship. There were fifteen hundred troops on board and twenty WRNS; THE wrns had to fo P.every day with the Wren Petty Officer, this event was watched with great delight by the other ranks!
Because the Mediterameam was damgerpis fpr ships, we went along the east coast of Africa . Soon the tropical kit was brought out and we were kept busu nturning up trousers. The wrns went into their whites: not the most useful garments for sitting on a dirty deck卢 After a week in Durban, we set off again:where could we be going? Could we be going - what an extraordinary idea! To India?
I had my twenty-first birthday on that ship: I was given a wooden key which I got everyone to sign and was feted on the boat deck which belonged to the officers. Later that evening I stared over ther side at the phophorus flashing under the sea. Our voyage was drawing to a close and we still had no idea of our destination. A couple of days later we were in Bombay. I was back in the continent where I had been born! Two of us were sent to Delhi, the rest went on to Ceylon.
Why were there WRNS in D4pu9? The anser lay with Lord Louis Mountbatten Head of Sout East Asia Command. He was tackling the job of gettingthe Japanese out of Buram. We were there to leven the lump.
My father, now retired, had been in the Indian Army, he had fought the tribesmen on the Nortuwest Frontier, for nearly thi9rty years. He still have friends in high place. I was wined and dine and given horses to ride on the Maidan. I was spoilt.
We had to endure the hot weather, in the middle of the day we were like fish out of water. The Memsahibs (there were still some left in Dekgu) were glad to see us wilting: out English faces would soon go sallow in the heat.
We went to Duty Dances once a week, these were obligatory: Mountbatten wanted the troops cheered up and we must fall in with this. The troops were sad and lonely and a long way from home. We were living in Rajas town houses which had marble floors and swimming pools. We were priveleged _ they were not.
After a year in Delhi I was sent to Ceylon, 6h454 3we hw6hiny on 6h4 3onr45tul h4wfh4er wnr 6h4 Flame of the Forest, which grew along all the roads was spetacular.
Finally the end of the War arrived and I was sent back to Britain. I had had a wonderful time in India - I look back at it with astonishment.


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