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HILDA ROBINSON (nee Mitchell)
WAAF

Hilda was born and brought up in Boldron where the family had a small farm. She went to Startforth School and later worked in Woolworths ~

I helped in the NAFFI at Deerbolt before joining up, then volunteered when 18 ~ the family thought I was mad as not many volunteered at the time. I went to Wolverhampton during the snowy winter of 1941 and being a country girl was wearing a riding mack and strong shoes and was amused by girls arriving in thin clothes and high heels. We all slept in our dressing gowns that night because of the cold.

I was sent to Morecambe for training and as they were short of people on barrage balloons, where the pay was good, I went for a short while to Newcastle, sometimes having to do a 24-hour duty. I was part of a team of six with a male Corporal in charge. The balloons were tied on the ground and if you got the call you undid the rope and gently eased the balloon up the guy lines. We wore trousers and battle dress top when working on the balloons and for night duty. I was a Lance Corporal, but in the WAAF this was called Leading Aircraft Woman.

I then went to Cardington in Bedford on a driving course ~ in the hanger where the R101 was made ~ and drove staff cars up to 3-ton lorries. Then to Harrogate and trained as a telephonist, after which I was posted to East Thorpe Hall in Malton, the radar HQ and lived in a lovely old house. The unit was then moved to Boston Spa at Wetherby. There was a lot of evening work. I sent messages to radar stations up and down the country using the phonetic alphabet system of A ~ able, B ~ baker, C ~ Charlie, and so on. I once had to send a message and because of a bad line Humberston and Comberton were confused and the guy was sent to the wrong place.

We worked shifts and often night duty. We got long leaves when I would go to the A1 and get a lift to the top of the hill on the A66 above my home in an army lorry. When we had time off we would go on walks or shopping in Leeds and Harrogate or York when we were in Malton. There were dances at night. A chap called Jack Fisher in the next office was in a band and the Warrant Officer was making television programmes before joining up.

I had been out with my husband, Bill, once before he joined up. It was a double date with each boy walking the girl home. He wrote to me and that was the start of the relationship and we married in 1943 when I was on compassionate leave due to my mother having an operation. The wedding was not planned ~ he suggested we got married as he was going abroad. The service was at Startforth Church followed by tea at my home. I wore a ‘Golden Arrow’ suit from Swinbanks in Autumn beige and rust and had a matching hat.

Bill was with the Household Cavalry guarding Windsor Castle and would see the princesses running around. Then he was in Europe, driving a scout car and collecting the wounded. A month after D Day he asked if I could go down from Malton on 24-hour leave to see him. I travelled a long way and the trains were off in London so was late back and put on a charge and the punishment was to make the officers’ beds. However, if I hadn’t gone I wouldn’t have seen him for a year. Another time when I went to see him when he was in York I was the only girl on the train and it was late, but the Americans had plenty of sweets.

On VE Day, I was working and Wing Commander Scott Taggart said he was not having us seeing any men so we were locked in PBX (the name of the room in which they were working) however I do remember someone hanging ‘something silly’ on the flagpole.

Hilda came out in 1945 and Bill in October 1946. They lived in Barnard Castle since then, bringing up their family. Hilda worked in Swinbanks for 27 years until she retired. She has been in W.I.,
Mothers’ Union and has worked in charity shops.

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