大象传媒

This story was submitted to thepeople's War site by Helen Oram, Scotland csv, on behalf of Marion Skene. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was a shy girl of 17 when I joined the WAAF. When I was demobbed in 1946 I was no longer shy.

I worked on the barrage balloons. We put the detonators in the balloons which were sent up in the air against the German bombers. There was a big cable attached to the balloon and this went under a truck. We drove a winch till the balloon went up in the air. It was like driving a car except that you didn't move. You had to take care: if your legs went over the wire, you would be hoisted up. We went inside the balloons to repair them. The top half of the balloon was helium - I loved bouncing about inside!

We had to bed the balloons down at night. We wore sponge soled shoes. There were two girls on either side of a huge tarpaulin. One very windy day at Haverton Hill, the two at the other side let go. The tarpaulin came over the cable and wrapped around me. They thought it was funny! I had hurt my back but decided not to go off sick. I went out that night with the girls but I was hurting so much I had to sit on a stool.

I remember four of us had to clear a drain. Rockets had flown over that day and the drains got choked with rubbish from the flying balloons. We were the only women on that site. Our bunks were in old railway coaches in a shed on a cricket pitch.

When we joined up, we were told not to make friends. It was difficult to make close friends as we were moved on so much.

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