大象传媒

Twins join the WAAF in WW2

Dorothy Thompson, Section Office, remembers:

I signed up in 1943 as a shorthand typist. Later, I was commissioned to become a Code & Cypher Officer. I was trained at Loughborough University to become 鈥渁n Officer and Gentlewoman鈥� and had to take Drills and learn to bark orders! One Sunday I was in charge of my female squad on Church Parade and the boys had a US Officer in charge. He was in overall control and shouted out 鈥淟eft turn (oh 鈥� pardon me) Right turn鈥�. We girls were in fits but managed to get to Church on time.

I then trained to be a Code and Cypher Officer at Oxford and was eventually posted to Gloucester. We were known as 鈥淐ypher Queens鈥� and worked 12hr shifts. We deciphered messages between the RAF squadrons. This involved using a Type-X machine which had a typewriter keyboard. We fed the coded message in and it came out in strips which were then stuck on to a piece of paper. Sadly, these were mainly about casualties and there were many.

They were marked 鈥淭op Secret鈥�, 鈥淪ecret鈥� or 鈥淚mportant鈥�. The 鈥淭op Secret鈥� ones had to be delivered by hand to the Commanding Officer and done immediately. We had 12hr duty rotas, which were very hard, but had two whole days off after two consecutive nights on. I loved these two days leave as I used to go to Kew, Surrey on the train and stay with my parents. My mother welcomed me 鈥� not least because I brought my 48hr ration card! Later, I was posted to Transport Command HQ Harrow. So I lived at Kew once again. I went to Harrow by train and it was 鈥渂uzz-bomb鈥� time. We were often turned out of the train and told to 鈥渇ind a sheltered doorway鈥�! The whole HQ was underground, so we were safe there. We knew when D Day was imminent and had to keep mum for several hours.

Meanwhile, my twin, Joan Craig joined up and became an Admin Officer, stationed in London. Her HQ was underground, but one night on duty, she returned to her lodgings next day only to find her bed covered in broken glass and debris, what an escape! Joan also had to take drills and one Sunday took her squad to Kew Church for Church Parade. My mother was there and said how very proud she was of Joan. Joan eventually married Desmond Craig, had 3 little girls and emigrated in 1952 to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). She ended up in Cape Town where she is now in a happy retirement home. We talk a lot on the phone. I have now stopped visiting her as at the age of 90 my travelling days are over.

My WAAF time lasted for 3 years and, as my pilot husband was away for that time, I was fully occupied in the WAAF. On his return home in 1944, we lost no time in starting a family. Peter was born in 1945 and Lynn in the following year. My time in the WAAF was quite pleasant and I made 3 life long friends.

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