大象传媒

I was in the ATS, formerly known as the WRAC. (Womens Royal Army Corps.) So was my sister, who was in coastal command where the men wore khaki tops and white trousers! My sister learnt to drive at the same place as The Queen, but it wasn't just about learning to drive - it was about maintenance as well. Civilian driving tests were suspended during the war. When they resumed, people who had been involved with vehicles in wartime didn't need to take a test. They soon stopped that!

I was an Architectural Draughtswoman in the Commander's Royal Engineers, which were based all over the country. I was based in a requisitioned Manor House in Derbyshire.

One night I was staying with my parents near Manchester when the air-raid warning sounded. It sounded so often we sometimes ignored it. We used to say 'Oh there it goes again!'.

This night it was for real and eleven of our neighbours were killed. This rose to twelve as another body was found the following morning. One of the victims was the Air-Raid Warden's wife. The Warden had rushed out into the street, leaving his wife and daughter under the kitchen table. The daughter survived but the wife was killed - not by a direct hit but by what was called 'Blast'. The bombs were indiscriminate. You could go into the kitchen of a house devastated by a bomb and find eggs intact.

Our house was badly damaged and next day there would be 10-12 inches of brick dust, which smelt horrific, in the street. Your feet would sink into it.

We think the bomb was meant for the centre of Manchester but it was protected by Barrage Balloons. I think they dropped it on us rather than having to take it back to Germany.

I also worked with Borough Engineers at the Town Hall - known as RESCUE. Their job was to assess damaged buildings.

I was sent from Derbyshire to Ripon, where I learned how to make plans for sites and how to level sites for hutted camps for the US Army.

This was a job usually done by Sappers but now we did it, together with people who were overage or not A1 (Physically. You went to register, had a medical and if you weren't A1 or A2, you weren't called up).

A lot of Derbyshire was turned over into hutted camps for the Americans, including the whole of Markeaton Park. I went to Keddleston Hall after it has been requisitioned. All the precious stuff had been stored away and the walls were bare.

After VE Day and VJ Day, the ATS wasn't immediately disbanded and you had to wait until your number came up unless you had compassionate grounds.

A group of us used to meet once or twice in London, but I think I must be one of the last C's R.E left.

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