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This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War website by Karolina Kopiec from 大象传媒 GMR Action Desk, on behalf of Mrs Margaret Williams, and was added to the site with her permission. Author fully understands site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

When I started work at 14 years old I worked in the cotton mill, on wartime cotton, to make uniforms for the forces. I joined the W.L.A. at 17 years old. I was at first in a large house in St Aspah, just up the road opposite the smallest Cathedral. We would work for the farmers around Kimell Bay, Rualt, Redland and all round the areas as a general farm worker. I did all sort of jobs; my first job was two weeks potato picking- a back breaking job! Haymaking stocking wheat, oats and barley, to dry, then leading up the cart down by a horse, to be stocked up on the rocks and later to be threaded and stored. It was very hard work. But nearly all the jobs at the farm were, hedging and ditching was another hard job. After about twelve months I got a transfer to Chute standing Manor. And over after a while we were transferred to Rednam House which had its own farm. I learned to drive in a five ton comer X army truck; we had to take a civilian police test and a W.L.A. test. We all seven of us passed the police test in Winchester and also passed the W.L.A. one at Reading. It was a very hard life then I was transferred to an old Airdrome in Christ Church, as a charge hand driver training new recruits.
By this time I had already met my later Husband at a W.L.A benevolent Dance at Thurston, who was a Paratrooper which the Royal Engineers Sixth Airborne Division. We had to work hard and some of the jobs were very heavy.

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