大象传媒

[Ethel Blatchford had left Guernsey before the start of the German Occupation, she鈥檇 been bombed out of Islington, and was working in Barnet. This is an extract from edited transcript of Mrs Ethel Wolley (n茅e Blatchford) interviewed by 大象传媒 Radio Guernsey 5/2/05. Transcribed by John David]

I鈥︹�︹��. So how old were you when you joined the Wrens?
I must have been about nineteen or twenty, I suppose.
I鈥︹�︹��. And is that a decision you made yourself?
No, when I was working at Moores in Barnet. You know how young girls get together and have ideas about things? I was in Barnet and staying with this Guernsey family, their niece from Guernsey was also there
I鈥︹�︹��. What was her name?
I鈥檝e got her picture here, and everything, Jean Masterton. And Jean worked at Moores, that鈥檚 why she got me this job there, and she said to me one day, why don鈥檛 you and I and Irene join the WAAFs? I said 鈥淥h No鈥� She said 鈥淵ou could be a parachute packer鈥� I said 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I would like to do that, because if I made a mistake it could cost somebody their life鈥�. So eventually the three of us, I said I would go into the WRNS if I could get in, because it wasn鈥檛 easy to get in. Because, I said, I come from a naval background. So, we applied, and the other two joined the WAAFs and are friends to this day.
I鈥︹�︹��. Remind me what the WAAFs鈥�
Mrs Wolley. Women鈥檚 Auxiliary Air Force. So they joined the Air force and I joined the Wrens, but I had a bit of a job to get release from my work, because it was considered essential war work. But Mr Whatnow the manager, who was extremely nice, said that he thought I was of more use there to the war effort than I would be in the Wrens. But I pointed out that he couldn鈥檛 stop me from applying to the services, because Channel islanders were given two years鈥� exemption from war work, so they weren鈥檛 compelled to stay in any one job.
I鈥︹�︹��. Why were they given two years?
I suppose it was because we were evacuees, or considered evacuees. But I applied and was accepted, and Moores, the company I worked for, were very very kind, every year those that were working there use to send us a postal order for five shillings, which of course was corn in Egypt, it really was, half my pay, which was fourteen shillings, I mad an allotment for my young brother, so he wouldn鈥檛 be short. It seems ridiculous today. But there again, we were fed and clothed and what-not, but I managed on seven shillings a week,
I鈥︹�︹��. So you joined the Wrens, where about were you based?
Well I trained at Mill Hill in London,
I鈥︹�︹��. Back to London
Back to London. We trained there for two or three weeks, and then eleven of us were sent on a draught, well we had to report to the RTO, Regulating Traffic officer, at Euston. We went on the night train up to Inverness, and then by train to a base on the west coast of Scotland called Aultbea, Loch Ewe.
And when we left Euston the RTO looked at our pass 鈥� it was all secret orders 鈥� 鈥淥h鈥�, he said, 鈥渟ay good-bye to the world鈥�. We were in Nissen huts 鈥� we were warm 鈥� right on the shingle bank of the loch. But it was a very important base in the war, because convoys left from there to go to Russia, and the Atlantic, the survivors and repairs and everything used to come in to Greenock, and though it was a very remote place, it was a very important place.
I鈥︹�︹��. So following your training, were you involved in any combat of any sort?
No, I did my training, and first of all, my first job in the Wrens was, I was given a job in the refrigeration plant, doing the clocks and the cycles and everything, I thought it was an awful thing, I thought why did I join to do this, and it amazes me that the supply of food didn鈥檛 go rotten, because I didn鈥檛 have a clue about all these clocks and gadgets, because I wasn鈥檛 mechanically minded. So anyway, then I was transferred to the engineers鈥� stores, that was a very lively place because the boys used to come in about half-past-seven in the morning, because they all wanted to get to the liberty boats that went out to the ships that had been damaged in the war, and we had to issue them with tools, and we had to be pretty smart, and then there was a notice went up for an anti-gas instructress, this was something new because they had built an anti-gas school near the boom defence in Greenock. I applied for this, and I was accepted, and I had to go to Dunfermline Dockyard on a very intensive course, with Officers and Wren officers and marines, and it was pretty tough, jumping in and out of trenches and being blinded with this gas, but eventually I was posted to Greenock, and from a Wren I didn鈥檛 go to leading Wren I went straight to Petty Officer. I worked at the Gas school at Greenock, but mainly I was the one who went with the Chief Yeoman 鈥� he was in the first world war 鈥� but mainly he and I used to tour up and down the West coast visiting all the Naval Bases, Lord Inverclyde鈥檚 Castle, Coates鈥檚 Cotton House at Troon, I鈥檝e slept all over the place, but we lived out of a suitcase. A bit tiring at times, and then when I came back for my rest period we鈥檇 be at the school in Greenock. And then we used to work with the AFS 鈥� do you know what that is?
I鈥︹�︹��. I鈥檝e got no idea
Auxiliary Fire Service. We had to do turntables and fireman鈥檚 lifts and all sorts of things, and that was part of our training.
I鈥︹�︹��. The reasons behind all this are horrific, it was war, but were there parts of your life that you were enjoying?
Oh yes, you enjoyed the friendship of the girls, and you had outings, and when the aircraft carriers used to come into Greenock they accumulated a lot of mess funds while they were at sea, and we used to have a coach and we鈥檇 go to Loch Lomond and various places, and there were lots of nice concerts that were put on in Greenock, and even at our first base at Loch Ewe, the Christmas entertainment that was put on in a very very old YMCA 鈥� it had been there in the First World War, I think 鈥� we had a film with eight different stages, the young Mr Pitt, it took hours to do it, but that was our Christmas Day entertainment. We used to have dances there, but the floor gave away once, because it was too old, and we had to wait till it was repaired, and we used to have dances. One week it would be the base dance, and the second week it would be people coming in on the convoys. We much preferred that, because we鈥檇 seen a lot of each other on the base, but when they came in the boys were very good, they used to bring us butter, sugar, tea, all sorts of things, to take home, and we used to take some of the, we had a nice arrangement with the local baker, we would take the sugar and butter along to Mr McClane, he would make the shortbread, and we would go halves, so we always took shortbread home when we went on leave. And then we used to exchange coupons, the boys wanted warm pyjamas for their wives, because it was so cold, there wasn鈥檛 a lot of heating, because we had an issue of these Vedonis V-neck pyjamas, and when you washed them they came out like Johnnie Walker, so we used to swap things, so we鈥檇 get the women鈥檚 clothes to them and the other way round
I鈥︹�︹��. by this time, it must have been a couple of years into the war, did it ever seem that this was the new normality and things would never go back to normal, or were you hoping in the back of your mind that the war would end?
Oh, you always hoped, you always hoped.

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