大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from CSV Berkshire on behalf of Kay Westlake and has been added to the site with her permission. Kay fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I had completed two years Nursing at the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital when I was eighteen and wanted to join the Forces. It was 1943. I was told the best thing to do was to apply to the Red Cross as a nurse which I did. I was interviewed and accepted, then had an intensive course of further training with the Royal Navy and was seconded as a Royal Naval Nurse V.A.D.
At the height of the blitz I was in London with the Royal Naval Blood Transfusion Unit which was situated in the Royal Veterinary Hospital. These buildings had been commandeered and were highly suitable as they had the laboratory facilities necessary for our work. We worked in groups, one team did resuccitation, another did the blood collection which was only taken from R. Naval personnel collected from all over the South East as far as Portsmouth, and a third group worked in the laboratory separating the serum. We took it in turns to work in the different groups. It was a very creepy building to work in at night with all the animal skeletons around. We were a very eclectic group of girls and included the twin daughters of an Admiral Dagleish and a Russian Princess by the name of Ula Obolinski and other nobility. Our billet was over a Police Station in Camden Town and whilst there we had to do fire-watching on the roof. We were visited by a Rear-Admiral who saw the ladder to the roof and enquired, "What's that for nurse?". I replied it was for surveying the area and warned him "I wouldn't go up there Sir". The sirens had sounded. "That's alright", he assured me, then there was an almighty bang-the V1 that landed blew up our Local Pub and the Rear-Admiral slipped down the ladder and finished up on his back (but alive). On another occasion an SBA (Sick Bay Attendant) and I were pushing a trolley of serum when the sirens went and we heard a V1 cut out. The SVA pushed the trolley away and me right into a wall. The Winchester (Bottles of serum) smashed and there was serum and glass everywhere. Next morning one of the nurses was very upset as her love letters had been blown away! I can't say I was ever really frightened as it was all quite exciting and we were so young. Later I returned to Haslar Naval Base in Gosport, Portsmouth and then on to Blyth in Northumberland where I subsequently met my husband a Submariner, Lt.Commander Ronald Westlake "Pluto" RNVR,DSC.
When I was posted to Northumberland I joined a train full of young RAF going to York. The train was absolutely crammed and it was bitterly cold. I met a nice young man, a Pilot, who asked me if I'd like to share his greatcoat which I did. We left as warm and good friends, never to meet again. At Newcastle I was met by a smart young Wren in a jeep who wouldn't give our destination. I didn't know it was a submarine base until we got there. At the camp, having reported for duty, a Wren steward asked what I'd like for supper so I jokingly said egg and bacon and it arrived! What a surprise, it was fantastic!
My first evening on duty I was returning to my billet when I heard a bugle. Everyone around stood to attention, but I didn't understand that the flag was being lowered and I was standing with my back to it! One dark evening just as I was going off duty a Wren appeared at the surgery door with a badly split nose because she had walked into a static water tank. I commenced to stop the bleeding with cold water until the doctor arrived and said, "Don't drown her nurse, we've got to stitch her up". She was a local girl and her parents were really grateful and came and thanked the doctor in person.
I first met my husband "Pluto" at a weekend dance on the Station which I was persuaded to go to by the doctor. The dancing was disastrous as he kept stepping all over my feet. I was invited aboard the Submarine Upstart by the Captain for a party. I said I didn't know the Captain but was told I had been dancing with him the night before. The sub was lying "three out" (this meant we had to cross two other subs along planks to get to Upstart). We went down the conning tower and into the tiny wardroom where there was practically no space. There we were served cocktails of naval Gin and Tonic and later wobbled ashore along the planks! I remember Blyth in Northumberland as a bitterly cold place and we used to spend days off walking along the beach freezing. Attached to the base was an R.A.F. Air Sea Rescue Unit. Sadly, on a freezing and snowy night, I was asked to help lay out a crew of a Canadian plane that had crashed off-shore. They all looked so very young. The Base was named H.M.S. Elfin and all aboard worked hard - there were some wonderful and famous submariners there. The Medical Staff were like a family, we had lots of laughs. One of our Sisters had a night on the town - next morning her hat was found on the head of Earl Grey's statue - she got ticked off!!
"Pluto" and I were due to be married when he was posted to the Far East, based at Freemantle, Australia. The submarines there were very active against the Japs. It was 1946 befor he returned to the U.K., we then married and had 54 happy years together, twenty odd years of which we spent in the Colonial Service, before returning to the U.K. Ron ("Pluto") died in 2001.
MEMO. H.M.Submarine Upstart was handed over to the Greek Navy at the end of the war.

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