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"This story was submitted to the People's War site by CSV/´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Nottingham on behalf of Beryl Embert with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions"

In 1942 I joined the Admiralty as a tempory Civil Servant at the age of 18, where I worked on Teleprinters until the end of 1946. Working on one of 3 watches. Our hours consisted of a week of days, 6 days a week 9am - 7pm plus 2 hours traveling, then 2 weeks of night 14 hours every other night, resulting in getting a Sunday off every 21 weeks. bank holidays and christmas etc were not existent. The Citadel was a bomb proof building at the corner of the Mall and St James Park. It can still be seen today when watching the Trooping of the Colour, but now it is covered in ivy. It was underground and a hive of industry. Not only was it manned by Naval personnel but by young girls, Tempory civil Servants. It was covered by the Secrecy Act which we all had to sign, it was hard work and long hours, especially as I cycled from Southfield nr Wimbledon to Horse Guard Parade and back again each day. I had many scary times but thoroughly enjoyed the time spent, and felt I had at least done something worthwhile.

I enclose a Broadcast given in Sept 1945 on the Admiralty at War.

"THE ADMIRALTY IN WAR"
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Extract from a broadcast talk by Rear Admiral R. K. Dickson D.S.O. Chief of Naval Information, Overseas Service,
5th, 6th and 7th September, 1945
The Admiralty had its fair share of bombs. Three direct hits on the night of 16th April, 1941 damaged the lovely old Board Room and they cut a great slice out of the south front facing the Horse Guards Parade. The most serious consequence was the interruption of communications by the flooding of the basement. But that was the last time we suffered badly. Soon afterwards there rose at the corner of the Mall and St. James's Park an extraordinary object like a mud fort. Its a wonderful place inside, and for the last four years it has been the very heart of the Navies of the Empire.

What you see from the Mall is just a huge lump of concrete; but underneath it, air conditioned and lit by daylight lamps, there's accomodation far the Board and for everyone who'd be needed for the worldwide control of our fleets under continuous air attack on London.

It could stand a siege. If you went down there at this moment you'd find 80 girls working teleprinters to all the naval headquarters in Britain and the Continent. You'd see the admiralty private telephone exchange and you'd find naval ratings manning fifteen or twenty lines of direct high-speed transmission to naval Wireless stations all over the world. There's a section dealing with what are ca1led Concession Telegrams - by Which naval officers End men abroad can communicate with their friends by nava1 wireless.-The complexity of modern warfare is a thing few people understand, and nowhere is it more truly reflected than in our naval communication system.
That Citadel is just a maze of machinery and conveyor belts. In one week last year, in secret messages alone, the Amiralty handles over 1,300,000 groups of naval cipher.
I've hardly mentioned the administrative departments which deal with personnel and material and the rest. But I assure you that a11 this great war organization was not built up without blood, toil, tears and sweat. If I went back to sea tomorrow I suppose I should return to London in a year or two and things much as they were in peace time. Then I think my memories of the Admiralty in the war would be less of the great occasions, and more of the men and women who have, loyally helped us with a very big job.
I should remember the hundreds of temporary junior officers and civil servants - mostly young girls - who queued up somewhere every day for their lunch and fought- their way home in the black-out, or who trudged back home very tired after a 14 hour night watch. And I should think of this line, of Newbolt's - "They passed content, leaving to us to the pride of lives obscurely great’.

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