大象传媒

This story was submitted by Helen Hughes of the People's War team in Wales on behalf of Margaret Crook, and is added to the site with her permission.

I was working as a shop assistant at the Dolcis shoe shop when the war started and when I became old enough to volunteer for the ATS 鈥�.I was under 18 and we went across to the Friary and I was called up about three weeks later. I went to Wrexham for three weeks basic training and took various tests and things. From there I went to Trowbridge鈥�. I had wanted to go in the Ack ack but anyway I was chosen to do what I was doing鈥nd we had to learn the Morse code. So I went down to Trowbridge in Wiltshire for about two or three months to learn the Morse code and then we were sent to where we were stationed for the rest of the war. Leicestershire鈥 little village in Leicestershire. We were trained as special wireless operators, we were intercepting the messages that the European war were transmitting to each other in Morse code and we were at this end intercepting them and taking their messages down in Morse code. They were in five letter blocks, all jumbled up, and from there they went to Bletchley Park to be decoded and that was the enigma code鈥�.so we were connected to Bletchley and our messages were collected, as far as I know, every hour and taken down to Bletchley. We worked continental shifts so there was always someone listening in鈥e did four shifts in two days I think it was 鈥o there was always someone listening in. If we weren鈥檛 on watch the next ones were taking over and the messages were going down to Bletchley to be decoded but we never knew what we were taking, we were never told what we were taking. In fact we have learned more since the secrets came out thirty years later鈥nd I have met others at reunions who were at the same place as where I was but we never ever met because we were on different shifts and they were doing different work. They might have been on teleprinters, typewriters; we were the Royal Corps of Signals. It was interesting, but we just didn鈥檛 know what we were doing, what we were taking down. We didn鈥檛 know how significant the work was鈥e were never told where the messages were going, we didn鈥檛 know. But we were always told we never had to talk about what we were doing and when we came away from there we had to sign the Secrets Act so we wouldn鈥檛 talk about this for thirty years鈥�.and it was sad really, because we all had parents and they were dead before we could tell them what we were doing. It鈥檚 all come out since the Enigma films and Station X. You would come home on a train full of forces, Air Force, Army or whatever鈥� they鈥檇 say 鈥渨hat do you do鈥� and you鈥檇 say you were in the signals, 鈥淐lerk, cook鈥濃�� you鈥檇 tell them anything but you didn鈥檛 say what you were doing. You had to put them off the scent鈥�.like Bletchley was one of the biggest secrets of the war鈥�.and we were an outstations to Bletchley and supplied them with their messages to be decoded. I mean, there were a few dotted around the country, but we didn鈥檛 know at the time鈥�.it was all very secretive, but we coped with it.

The war was very quiet where we were in Leicestershire鈥e didn鈥檛 see any bombing at all. We were in a manor estate, working in the grounds and apparently from the newsletters I have from the British Legion, from the air it was more or less camouflaged but they still kept something like the cricket pavilion or something to look from the air as if it was just an ordinary manor house. Beautiful place鈥�.we had a final reunion of all of us that were there from 42 to 45/46 and then they had a final reunion, I think it was 1997 of people 鈥� all of us that were there who were still alive and it was amazing we hadn鈥檛 met each other for 52 years and it was like yesterday. You just sat down and talked to them, you could recognise people who you hadn鈥檛 seen since 1945/46. It was a great time鈥�. I think the men had a tough time鈥 don鈥檛 say all the ATS or Wrens or Waafs sometimes they were in the bad areas, but ours was quite peaceful and quiet. Half doped all the time - you鈥檙e in bed one minute and then you鈥檙e on duty the next 鈥� things like that. We used to do quick turnovers of shifts you see鈥ne of the shifts finished at midnight and we didn鈥檛 have to be back on duty until lunchtime not the next day, but the day after 鈥� so we were entitled to a sleeping out pass if we wanted to go anywhere. We used to hitchhike 鈥� we had no money 鈥� so we鈥檇 hitchhike or jump on a train and hide yourself (you didn鈥檛 get a rail warrant unless you were on leave)鈥e鈥檇 go to London, Manchester.

On VE day I came home for two or three days鈥�. My friend from Barry and I came back to Cardiff for two or three days and then we went back. It was OK but then we had no work to go back to because the European war had ended so that was us. Then they wanted volunteers to go to India to cover the Far East war鈥�.so then we had to go for training to learn the Japanese Morse鈥hich is quite different, I can鈥檛 remember that at all. We did two to three months there and we were going out to Bangalore in India 鈥ell thank goodness the war ended, the bomb dropped and we were waiting to come home on embarkation leave so we didn鈥檛 get to India after all. Everyone went mad then鈥�. everyone, civilians, everyone had 48 hours holiday for VJ day and my friend from Barry and I were given a twenty mile ban because we may have been going abroad. A twenty mile ban鈥�.we were in Derby and we had to be in by 23.59 that VJ Day鈥ut my friend and I came home to Cardiff, stayed two or three days, went back and we got back to this lovely place鈥 stately home it is you can go and visit it Kedleston Hall its called, we went back and we got to the guard room and we were immediately put on a charge because we were absent without leave. So we had ten days in Kedleston with all the celebrations going on around us, we couldn鈥檛 go. We were in the cook house, scrubbing steps down the stately home鈥�.we still enjoyed it. When we didn鈥檛 go we had to remuster and I went on a clerical course to Aldermaston and ended up in Edinburgh to finish 鈥 was demobbed then from Edinburgh in the April 1946.

There were good things about the war鈥�.we had wonderful comradeship鈥nd you can go anywhere ask any of these men, girls anyone who was in the forces and you can sit and talk to anyone there鈥檚 something 鈥t gave me a lot of confidence. We were billeted in nissen huts, 12 to a hut I don鈥檛 know we were quite happy鈥�.an old coke stove at one end. Silly things we used to do鈥 remember going out, so you want to wash your shirt, and you鈥檇 stand it round the coke stove till it was red hot with the coke to dry your shirt, iron it鈥nd off you鈥檇 go. It was a lovely atmosphere and I still keep in touch with them now鈥hose who are still around.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.