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I was in the territorial service and I happened to be called up on the day that war broke out. My family had all served in the army — my paternal grandfather, my father and my mother all served time in the army. Everyone called me 'Smudger Smith'.

I was never scared or nervous about the war or what I had to do. There is job to do and we just got on with it. What could you do?

I was originally in a unit attached to the Welsh Guards. I was transferred back to London from Esher when the training battalion Welsh Guards were sent to France. I didn't hear anything of their movements until I was informed by a senior officer that a bomb had hit the trench that was filled with my Welsh Guard friends. The bomb killed seven of them. I knew the men who wouldn't return. I had lived and worked with this regiment over a great period of time and it was a great loss to me.

Later on I worked in the pay office in Finsbury Circus. I worked in the army for 14 years. I rose to the rank of Sergeant Major and I was responsible for about four hundred young ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) soldiers. I recall one particular day while we were marching around the back streets of Moorgate when suddenly we heard the air raid sirens sound. We crouched down beside a small wall railing that bordered a huge hole where a home once stood. Then we waited. That's all we girls could do. Once the bomb had exploded, luckily some distance away, we continued our marching. Thankfully no one was injured.

On leave, I would visit my family who lived in London during the time. We often visited the theatre, (I remember seeing some music hall shows), cinema (the newsreels were important to us all), or ate out at the 'Corn House'. The food was good, even though there was of course rationing and limited supplies of things.

In Weybourne I had an ATS Sergeant posted to my unit as an Officer's Mess Caterer. We are still friends today! Both Bunny and I hit it off from the word 'go'. We went out for a drive last Saturday and then we had a cup of tea.

One of the worst sights I remember was when I worked in London. I usually travelled by tube from Grosvenor Square in the evening. I remember seeing all the women and children lying on the platform sheltering from the air raids. They were packed in like sardines down there. It was a horrible sight to see so many people lying, sheltering on the dirty tube platforms.

During the end of the war, I was transferred up to Dunfermline where I worked training RASC (Royal Army Service Corp) recruits. Lady Martha Bruce was my company Commander. There was only a handful of us staff connected with TA (Territorial Army) there. We all worked together in a small office building. I caught a lift with Lady Martha back to her home, from where I would walk back down to my digs. She was a really nice person.

Overall I spent fourteen years in the army stationed in Colchester, Dunfermline, Esher, London and Weybourne. I totally enjoyed my time in the army.

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