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This story was submitted to the People's War site by Helen Avey of the 大象传媒 London Team on behalf of Vera Neil and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I joined the A.T.S. on the 21st of July 1943, the exact date on which I was 17 1/2 years old. My initial training took place at Pontefract Barracks in West Yorkshire, not many miles from my home in Boston Spa, so that when the passing out parade took place, my mother and next door neighbour were able to come along to view the proceedings.

I was sent on a Kine-Theodolite course to Manorbier in South Wales which was the home of the School of Anti-Aircraft Artillery. From then on I was always stationed by the seat at one of the many practise camps for A.A. Batteries. These included Whitby, Clacton-on-Sea, Tonfanau and Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey.

My first posting was to Clacton-on-Sea where we were billeted in commandeered boarding houses. My room was at the very top of the house with no heating and the only place to keep my belongings was in a cupboard with a plank over an open cold water tank. There was only one bathroom with a limited supply of hot water so there was always a queue for the bath with the cry 'Bags 2nd water' or even 'Bags 3rd water'! Fortunately, whilst on leave I heard that I had been posted to Whitby where I had much more comfortable accommodation in a large terraced house. Although once we were nearly all asphyxiated by fumes escaping from the large coke boiler in the huge kitchen.

My friend Pat Burrows and I were at Whitby when the first American troops arrived. They could hardly believe their eyes when they saw women working on the gun-park but we all became very friendly and Pat eventually married one of the American Officers when he returned from France. The gun-park at Whitby was up on the East Cliff near the Abbey so we had to climb the famous 199 steps up to St. Mary's Church every day. Of course, the Yanks were one step ahead of us and used to drive up there in their jeeps using the 'donkey slope' by the side of the steps.

Being stationed on the East coast with all the bracing fresh air, we had limitless energy and used to go dancing every night. I remember one place being especially attractive as they always served sherry trifle as part of the refreshments.

My posting to Tonfanau near Tonwyn was a happy time as it was set in a beautiful part of the Welsh countryside. We all had bicycles and used to cycle out to remote farms where the farmers' wives were always ready and willing to supply us with bacon and eggs or plates piled high with Welsh pancakes and fresh farm butter. The food on camp was very poor.

The Kine-Theodolite operators were a group unto themselves. We had our own Officers and N.C.O.'s and we kept up our own Reunions over the years, a recent one being held in Tenby near to Manorbier. Several 'Kines' (pronounced Kinnys) returned from abroad to join in the party. We paid a visit to the site of our gun-park on the cliffs at Manorbier - It happened to be a very cold blustery day - we looked at each other and said 'Was it really as bad as this?' but we all remembered leaning into the wind on our way down to the gun-park well wrapped up in our battle-dress, jerkins and shearing mittens. I was demobbed on 5th February 1947 and only just managed to get home before the village was snowbound in one of our worst winters.

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