大象传媒

I joined the W.R.N.S. in November 1943, was sent to Eastcote, Middlesex, as part of Pembroke V, working on the German Enigma code, volunteered for overseas duty and was sent to Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in early June 1944 to work on Japanese codes. I celebrated my 20th birthday on the troop ship!
大象传媒 came under the Chief of Naval Intelligence and I am wondering whether anyone from those days is a contributor here.

I clearly remember arriving in Colombo and learning that one of the Wrens on the ship had lost her parents as a result of a V-2 bomb.

I also learned why many of us were on that troopship. It turned out we were replacements for Wrens lost at sea when Lord Mountbatten shifted his South East Asia Command headquarters from Mombasa, Africa, to Kandy, Ceylon, and when the ship they were on was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. I have never forgotten that of the Wrens on that doomed ship, two survived because of the bravery of one sailor. He pushed them one by one out of a porthole, only to lose his life himself.

I have one sad memory of my work on Japanese codes. I was friendly with a group of Canadian flyers; one night, they told me they were going to search for two of their own who had not returned to base. I could not tell them that I had decoded a Japanese message saying that the pilot had been killed and the navigator had been "persuaded to talk". So, I had to let my friends go on that mission knowing it was fruitless and that I could not tell them because I was sworn to secrecy. Fortunately, the search party returned safely (but, of course, unsuccessful).

Never will I forget the camaraderie among the Wrens, the quarters we occupied in "bandas" on the grounds of a beautiful mansion in Colpetti, Colombo, the lovely beaches and swimming in the clear waters, and that beautiful island, known as "the pearl of the Indian ocean". Too bad it has been a battleground in recent years for fights between the Tamils (originally from India and assigned to menial jobs) and the more prosperous Singhalese people. Otherwise, I would love to return for a visit (even though I'm now 81).

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