大象传媒

[This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a volunteer from 大象传媒 Radio Cambridgeshire on behalf of Ruby Fordham and has been added to the site with her permission. Mrs Fordham fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.]

When war broke out I was 18 and had been out of school a year. I was working on food distribution for the Co-op and when rationing came in, we had to keep registers of what people had.

I was called up for the fire service and I was on the switchboard one night in six. My station was known as 3Z and it was on Arbury Road.

After working at the Co-op all day I went on duty at 7 pm, and stayed on until 11 pm. If I had a 鈥榣ive watch鈥� through the night, I would sleep on a bunk at the Fire Station.

I remember once that I was asked to go in and wake up a man for duty. I was very uncomfortable with going up to a man in bed and said to the Officer, 鈥淢y mother wouldn鈥檛 like it.鈥� I was 20! I can remember the officer replying, 鈥淣o one is your MOTHER do anything.鈥�

To help my work, I went to evening classes to learn the method of book-keeping. Some of the men I got to know there were up learning to fly planes 鈥� and they couldn鈥檛 even drive a car!

Whenever there was a call from the centre of Cambridge, it was a full call-out: the buildings were very old and close together.

I was a keen netball and hockey player and played netball for the Fire Service. I was chosen to play for the County. We didn鈥檛 have sirens in those days 鈥� there were big brass bells on the fire engines. When we won the cup one year, they allowed me to ring the bell.

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