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EVA STUBBS (nee Wharton)
FANY ~ First Aid Nursing Yeomanry

Eva was brought up in Sunderland along with her two sisters and brother. Her father was a miner and before her marriage, their mother had been a dress maker and made clothes for Lady Thompson of the shipping family. Eva wrote the following for a talk to a group of the Trefoil ~

I had hoped to stay on at Monkwearmouth Central Girls’ School and take my School Leaving Certificate, but my father obtained the headmistress’s permission and evacuated my sister and I to stay with farming relations in Stainton Village ~ that was the weekend War was declared. I remember when they came to the farm with identity cards for us, there were 16 in the house as various relations were staying and my number was FHAC116. We went to the village school, then to Barnard Castle C of E School, with other evacuees. Feeling homesick, we soon returned to Sunderland for Christmas, and stayed there.

Here schools were closed due to the number of children and teaching staff being evacuated and the buildings used to accommodate Emergency Services. Only a few teachers remained and held lessons in odd rooms in various houses around the town. I was unable to study seriously so decided to work as a window dresser for J Jones, Ladies Outfittes in the High Street, also doing my turn at ARP fire fighting duties, etc. I joined Sunderland Girls’ Training Corps between 1940-43. We met once a week and did similar activities to the guides ~ First Aid, cooking, Morse code, camping and practised how to handle long fire hoses at the fire station ~ I achieve the rank of Section Leader, as a Sergeant. I also gained the Silver Medal of the Royal Life saving Society.

My 18th birthday was 31 December 1942 ~ the age for call-up to do National Service. My elder sister was directed to work in an aircraft factory on lathes making the ‘air screw’ known as the propeller and she advised me not to follow her direction. As they were not recruiting any more for the ATS, WAAFS and WRNS so I decided to volunteer, making my own enquiries about the FANY’s through the Labour Exchange.

I was invited to an official interview at the WTS (FANY) Headquarters at 31 Wilton Place, Hyde Park Corner and had to face several senior officers who asked about my parents, my education and knowledge of French and why I had left school at 15. I was pleasantly surprised when sometime later I received instructions to report back to London for duty with a group of girls. We were transported to a large country house in Banbury. Here we did training ~ lectures including Corps history, security, First Aid, mapping, military organisation, censorship and general knowledge ~ and a very high standard was required.

After two weeks we returned to HQ to be interviewed and selected for further training ~ as wireless operators, coders or orderlies. I was selected to train as a coder and remained in London. The Cipher School was across the road to FANY HQ, where we lived. We were taught several methods of coding, but were not allowed to take notes and just had to listen, learn and practise while in class. Security was vital and I agreed to swear under oath and signed the Official Secret Security Documents. I had to give my measurements and Simpsons in Bond Street made our khaki uniforms. We wore a dress tunic and skirt with a leather belt, a khaki shirt and tie and either a peaked cap or a dress bonnet with badge on a red flash. We were allowed to wear trousers on night duty or when abroad. We also wore white shirts.

I then went to work in the Foreign Office, Baker Street where Leo Marks, a brilliant young man, devised the codes which were used by our agents. Whilst there one evening when I returned back to my base at Wilton Place and was introduced to another young lady who had arrived from Sunderland for her interview, hoping to be accepted, Doris Burton. Our agents were trained to organise resistance work in occupied countries, prior to being parachuted behind enemy lines. Each agent used different code names. They were chosen, as they spoke French fluently and knew the French country-side, having lived there prior to the War. They worked with the SOE which was formed in July 1940 and known as Churchills’ Secret Army, and operated behind a veil of secrecy.

Agents would transmit their messages on certain schedules, taking every care not to be caught out by Gestapo-detector vans ~ accuracy and speed was vital. Messages had to be decoded and dealt with immediately and a reply enclosed and transmitted in return. Our FANY SOE agents were the brave ones, such as Odette, Violette Szabo and Nancy Wake. In all about 38 women were trained, sent into occupied France and worked beside male SOE agents, helping local resistance groups. I never met them personally. Daily messages were transmitted back to England on smuggled wireless sets. The wireless operators would read the dots and dashes and write the message down and the coders would then be given this and have to decode it. The most important ones had to be given priority. A number of agents were caught and executed by the Gestapo.

While I was there preparations were being planned for D Day landings. Shortly before the landings we were transported to an American Camp near Bicester. There were 600 Americans and sixty girls. We worked with the American OSS (Office of Strategic Service) doing 12 hour shifts. After this successful military operation Doris and I volunteered to do service abroad in Italy. Unfortunately I suffered as a result of my vaccinations and had to delay travelling. Doris travelled with the others in a Dakota, whilst I eventually flew by Liberator, via Casablanca, Oran, Tunis, Naples and finally Bari, which took about three days. My passport was signed by Sir Anthony Eden. I was then transported to Monopoli.

After six weeks, we were on the move again to Egypt. This time flying in a Dakota across to Cairo via Malta. In Cairo I worked at Middle East HQ. We lived aboard a house-boat called ‘The Sudan’ which was previously used by Cook’s ‘Nile Cruises’. The social life was good and English women were respected.. We were invited to parties and clubs. Off duty I did quite a bit of exploring around and saw the pyramids. Life was more relaxed and we made lots of friends who were kind and most considerate. One particular friend was disappointed when he learnt that I had arranged to travel to Jerusalem on leave on 31 December, the day of my 20th birthday and New Year’s Eve ~ unknown to me he had invited friends for a surprise party at Shepherds Hotel. Instead he came to see me off at the station with 20 red roses. We had the party on my return to Cairo. However, the journey by train to Jerusalem was interesting as the Railway Transport Officer insisted we three girls share his carriage as the train was fully occupied by service men. The train stopped at Kantara for a late evening meal just before midnight and the officer escorted us back to the train, as he though it best for us. Then when the train continued he kindly took us along to talk to the men and wish each other a Happy New Year. We had breakfast at Gaza. We stayed at the YWCA (King David Hotel) in Jerusalem. There was no shortage of escorts as we toured Bethlehem, the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane and visited the Old City, walked the 14 Stations of the Cross, saw the Dead Sea, Jericho and crossed the Jordan and the many beautiful churches. On 17 January 1945 we left Cairo for Port Said and boarded ship bound for Italy again and on 23 January we set foot on Italian soil at Taranto and were transported to Torri-a-Mare near Bari. Here I worked with Doris at last. We were allocated to different villas, which were very cold. Whilst on duty I received a message on the field telephone and was surprised to hear my brother-in-law, Bill’s, voice. He had been injured in Greece and had been sent to Naples for convalescence. I was able to arrange a weekend off duty and early on the Saturday morning went to Bari airfield to beg for a flight. After waiting five hours I was on my way with SAAF. First we flew to Catania in Sicily for repairs to the plane (a two engine Hudson — with one engine not working) a very exciting trip with the pilot showing-off his flying skills over the mountains. Bill met me at the YWCA in Naples at 5.30 pm.

On the Sunday a street photographer took our photo which I enclosed in a letter home. It was quite a surprise for the family to see us together. We visited Pompeii. On the Monday I returned to Bari by road. On my last leave in Italy Doris and I flew to Rome and did the usual touring around ~ St. Peters, The Vatican City and attended an audience with Pipe Pius X!!.who blessed all the service personnel present ~ first in Latin and then in English. We also went to the opera ‘Aida’. On our return to Bari by road, they saw the shelled ruins of the monastery at Cassino.

On VE Day there was special excitement waiting for the final victory announcement. We attended a mess meeting and heard Churchill’s speech at 3 pm and King George’s speech at 9 pm. After dinner we walked along the sea-front, where lights were blazing, music playing, people singing and celebrating.

On 10 June we all boarded two 3-ton trucks bound for Naples transit hotel and stayed there for seven days. Friends took us out and about and we visited Sorrento. On 17 June we boarded Canadian Pacific’s ‘The Duchess of Richmond’, the same ship which carried us across from Egypt to Italy. Sunday, 24 June at 2 pm we sailed into Liverpool, a military band was playing on the dockside to welcome us back with ‘You’ll be far better off in a home’ ~ NICE! We disembarked at 5 am on the Monday and caught an early train to London to FANY HQ. Monday, 26 June we travelled home from London in the late evening. Later my father organised a grand welcome home party for my brother (RAF), my brother-in-law (Royal Engineers) and myself.

On her return, Eva worked for British Rail at South Docks in Sunderland. When attending a cousin’s wedding at Jarrow she met, Tommy, who lived on a neighbouring farm to the one she had been evacuated to. They married in December 1953 and brought up their family on the farm. They retired to a bungalow in Stainton and then to Hawthorn Drive. She is a founder member of Stainton and Streatlam WI and sings in Deerbolt Ladies Choir. (Doris met Tommy’s friend, Bruce and were also married in December 1953 ~ she and Eva are still good friends).

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