大象传媒

Mrs Stella Thomson
9 Potters Way
Plympton
Plymouth
PL7 1QP

Shirley my twin sister and I volunteered for the A.T.S. in 1942. We were only 19 and both of us were in reserved occupations. However, when we heard that our elder sister鈥檚 fianc茅 had been reported missing over Norway we were very upset, consequently we decided to volunteer for the A.T.S. much to our Father鈥檚 dismay. He said that we were far too young. We had to have his written consent as we were under 21 and eventually he consented provided we both promised never to drink alcohol or smoke. He said he knew we would not let him down 鈥� I kept my promise.

Our first posting was to 69 A.A. Brigade in Bath which was a long way from our home of Morpeth, a market town in Northumberland. A freezing Nissen hut awaited us: a concrete floor, rough blankets, no heating and rats running over the roof. In the next bed to me was the Hon. Rosemary Scott-Ellis daughter of Lord Howard De Walden. We called her 鈥淩osebud鈥� and she was a good sport. I was fascinated by her make-up routine-the rest of us just washed our faces. Our next shock was the cookhouse, a hut full of old rough tables where we had dreadful food and saw rats coming up from the River Avon.
One day we were surprised to see our hut boiler alight-Why? The Princess Royal was coming. She arrived, felt the mattresses and said 鈥淵ou girls will suffer from rheumatism when you are older鈥� She complained to the V.I.P,s but we were then posted to 3rd A.A. Group, Bristol. During our stay in Bath, we regularly used to be given lifts by Queen Mary in her Rolls Royce.

In Bristol we continued our training as Top Grade Teleprinter operators. Our training had begun in Kingston-upon-Thames, with various courses until we passed as First Grade Cipher ops. Plain language messages were easy since we could send those at the same time as receiving inward messages. We were billeted in Badminton House which was sheer luxury after our previous billet. This was now just before D-Day.
We sensed that something was up. The cipher traffic from Filton aerodrome was fast and furious, Top Secret, Most Immediate, etc. etc. Unfortunately the whole of the night shift team succumbed to fly-infected food poisoning! Shirley and I refused to go off sick because the messages were too exciting. We took turns dashing off to the toilets (fortunately nearby). We knew that checking each block of cipher was vital. Looking back, I am proud of what we did that night 鈥� a mistake in the cipher could have cost lives. The brother of one of our colleagues came to see her when we went off duty. He adored his sister and had come to say goodbye. Later, when we were in London she heard that he had been killed. I shall never forget her screaming and sobbing.

Our next posting was to 1st A.A. Group London. During our first night we were asleep when we heard 鈥渂leep, bleep, bleep鈥� imminent danger warning. A buzz-bomb was overhead and landed on a R.A.F. billet nearby. Their beds were all smashed- after that we did not bother to hide under our beds during raids. When we went on night duty we wore our helmets and carrying gas masks. We had to find our way by shining half blacked-out torches on the pavement kerbs. We were classed as 鈥渙perational staff鈥�: we went on duty at night and were never in an air-raid shelter. Because of this we were given free tickets to all the London shows along with the Red Cross, ambulance drivers, etc. One night we went to the Queensbury Club run by the Americans, where Glenn Miller was performing with his band. The show was wonderful and all of us in the front row were invited to go for a chat with him during the interval. He was a lovely man and asked us to write in his diary. We chatted about the work we did and he said how he was looking forward to going home to America after his next concert. His plane was shot down soon after- a great loss.
One night we were blown out of our beds when a rocket landed near Chelsea Barracks. We were told to keep this secret as the Enemy was keen to know where they landed.

All top grade cipher ops were summoned by War Office to take a test in Kingston-upon-Thames. They wanted to test only top grade ops, all very 鈥渉ush-hush鈥� and only a few would be chosen who displayed 100% accuracy. My sister and I say the test and left the room. An officer came and called 鈥淪 Webb and S Webb report for injections, You are going on embarkation leave鈥� There was some confusion with our similar names which resulted in our being given a double dose of injections by mistake. We were sick for a few days ( the mistake is recorded in my pay-book)

We left for overseas in a small Dutch ship. On the way the ship stopped. Apparently this had never happened before, one of the sailors told us. Then he showed us the mines in the water. After that we had an escort ship. Eventually we arrived in Ostend, spent the night there and next day went on a lorry to Helmond in Holland. We were warned that we would be shocked when we arrived at our destination. All the shops were empty apart from one with clogs in the window. We were given an Officers鈥� billet and our landlady was called Mrs De Groote. She was thrilled when we gave her some soap and some cigarettes (the Army always made sure that we were given cigarettes). But we were always hungry, even though our landlady was able to swap cigarettes for food on the Black Market. In the middle of Helmond was the Army cookhouse but only bread and small squares of bully-beef were available. Since we were vegetarians, we existed on bread. We gave the meat to the local children who followed us after that.
One night we woke up being bitten by mosquitoes. My sister only had a few bites but I was smothered. In the morning I had a swollen foot and leg. I went to sickbay but all they did was paint me with the purple lotion they splashed on everything. Soon I had to borrow larger shoes to be able to walk to work. I was walking by a canal when a Canadian jeep stopped and out jumped a handsome officer. He said鈥� let me look at your leg, I鈥檓 a doctor. You are coming with me to the Canadian Field Hospital in Einhdoven. I鈥檓 contacting your Unit and on my authority you are not fit to work鈥�. He said that my leg was very badly infected. We arrived at the Field Hospital which was in a Monastery- full of elderly monks and not a woman to be seen. The doctor arranged for me to be issued with pyjamas and told me to wait in the garden with the wounded soldiers. He treated my leg and rolled up the pyjama leg and put on a huge bandage. After he left the soldiers started to laugh so I said 鈥渨hat鈥檚 the joke?鈥�. They told me to look up and there to my astonishment was a row of monks looking at my leg! Quite a sight for members of a very strict closed order. It was lonely being on a ward on my own. The Dutch had had a terrible winter and the spring sunshine made a difference. After about a week a Red Cross lady arrived with books. I chose The Complete Works of Somerset Maugham
Which is still my favourite book.

Eventually we were posted to Brussels H.Q. of Communications B.A.O.R.(308 Telegraph Op Section) no 2 Coy. L of C Brussels. The ex Gestapo H.Q. in the Avenue Louise was where we now worked. Our billet was in the Rue Abbaye. We were astonished to see paintings of Pan and weird figures on the ceiling. The bathroom was black and so was all the equipment left by the S.S. There was a 鈥渢hrone room鈥� and an altar in gold where they apparently practised black magic. The whole building was creepy to say the least. The porter in the basement who was there during the German occupation said that the local population at the time were afraid to walk past the house. There was a statue of an eagle in the garden.
We were amazed to see food in Brussels- on pay day we treated ourselves to a meal in the Montgomery Club (21st Army Group had taken over the Egmont Palace). We could even pay to have a bath there! I remember the song 鈥淛鈥檃ttendrai鈥� being played very often there.
Brussels seemed to have been untouched by the War- we found out that was because the S.S. spent their leaves there. We were on night duty and found it hard to sleep during the day because of the noise of all the traffic on the cobbled streets.
One night I was transmitting a very long cipher message to War Office when it was interrupted. This had never happened before. The officer in charge said 鈥渁sk War Office why your message has been stopped鈥� The reply came: Atom Bomb has been dropped on Hiroshima. Your message has been cancelled. (it had been postings or Army,Navy and R.A.F. personnel to the Far East) There was dead silence in the teleprinter room.
Our training was second to none. We were used to working as such speed with intense concentration and having to check our cipher so carefully that having time to drink a huge tin mug of onion-tasting tea was a luxury. An orderly had to stand next to me and burn the top secret copies after I had checked them.

Ironically, after all the War years waiting for my fianc茅 to return to the U.K. after 4 years in N Africa Italy etc. I received a message from home that he had arrived. I had been promised when being sent abroad that if I gave 3 weeks鈥� notice I would be given leave to go home to get married. However I was told that they could not spare me. In desperation I went to the Padre. He said that he would arrange for me to have compassionate leave but I had to find my own way to the airport. and try to get on a plane to London. I reached the airport and found some American Officers in charge of food supplies who were loading up. I blurted out my story and a top ranking officer said that if I didn鈥檛 weigh very much I could sit on his knee to London! Whilst I was chatting a very important looking gentleman in civilian clothes was listening. He said 鈥渄o not worry. I am being met in London and I will instruct my driver to drive you to your army unit address and you should be able to get home in time鈥� On arriving in London he was met by a lot of important-looking people. I never found out who he was but he was as good as his word. His driver dropped me off and I met Mary Churchill who directed me to see another officer as she was going off-duty. I received my release certificate, reference etc. and my train voucher. Tired and hungry I raced to the station. A helpful Naval Officer ran with me carrying my heavy kitbag and helped me onto the last train.
I arrived at Morpeth station and my Father walked past me until I shouted to him. I had lost so much weight that he had not recognised me. He never knew exactly what we had experienced during that time.

In retrospect, I should have not bothered so much to get back. My sister had stayed in Belgium and was posted to Germany along with the Americans and food! She said it was the happiest time of her life-and she met her future husband. My new husband returned to Italy for 6 months- such is wartime and its consequences.

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