大象传媒

This is a summary of an interview with: Mrs Edith Berry recorded on the 19th September 2005.

My name is Mrs Edith Berry (nee. Warburton). I was born on the 11th February 1921, in Higher Openshaw, Manchester. There were 5 in our family, Mother, Father, a brother, a sister and myself, I was the youngest. My mother died when I was three, she had diabetes. My father married again when I was five.

I went to Wheeler Street School, Higher Openshaw. 鈥淎 marvellous school.鈥� I left school when I was fourteen and went to work as a comptometer operator at an engineering firm 鈥淔ERGUSON PALING鈥�. 鈥淚 worked 46 hours a week, Monday to Friday and Saturday morning. My weekly pay was ten shillings. My take home pay was nine shillings and ten pence because two pence was taken out for insurance. I got six pence spending money out of my wage. It was two pence at the pictures. If you went to the pictures you did without sweets, you had to manage your money鈥�

I remember the day war was declared. 鈥淲e were having a late breakfast on Sunday, we heard the news on the wireless鈥� 鈥淚 burst out crying at the thought of war, every one dreaded it鈥�

鈥淏ecause I needed his permission, I asked my father if I could volunteer to join the Air Force. My father said no, your brother is in the Navy, one in the forces is enough!鈥�

When I was twenty I went to live with my aunt, I then joined the Air Force. I went to Bridgenorth, where I was kitted out in my uniform and did my basic training, 鈥淚 felt happy to be in the force. I had volunteered and I knew that my life was on it鈥� 鈥淭he pay was 1 shilling and 8 pence a day, when I got up to corporal it was 拢2 a week鈥�. At Bridgenorth we all took exams to see what we were good at. Because I was used to finger work, which I found easy because of my comptometer work they put me into signals as a teleprinter operator and sent me to Cranwell where I did eight weeks training. I was then stationed in Liverpool for three and a half years. We were billeted at Huyton Ladies College.

In Liverpool, we worked deep in the basement of Derby House, which is behind the Liver Building. I worked in Coastal Command sending and receiving signals from aircraft and ships. 鈥淵ou didn鈥檛 understand a lot of the signals because they were in codes鈥�. We worked in shifts, we worked from 1pm until 6pm one day, 8am until 1pm the second day, on the third day we worked from 6pm until 8am the next morning, then we slept that day, then we started the shifts again. 鈥淲hen the air raids were happening while we were working, because we were so far underground I did not know what was happening, but I remember that on one occasion we could not get out but eventually they got us out鈥�. When I was on leave at home in Manchester, during air raids and because we did not have an air raid shelter we used to shelter in what we thought was the safest part of the house, near the pantry, we were frightened.

I was moved from Liverpool to Northern Ireland, to a costal command station at Ballydrain which is in the countryside about 6 miles from Belfast. During our spare time we would go out walking in the country or go to the pictures, three or four of us would go together. I was demobbed on 20th February 1946 while I was in Northern Ireland. 鈥淚 never regretted joining, I feel I did good and for myself as well鈥�

I then went to stay with friends in south Wales. I worked in south Wales as a comptometer operator for about two years. I returned to Manchester and worked as a comptometer operator for the Coop, Bloom Street.

I re-enlisted in the Air Force Volunteer Reserves and continued in the teleprinting section, I used to do a couple of hours during the week when I had finished working and sometimes weekends, I was at Bowlea near Middleton. After 12 months I was transferred to the Auxiliary Force and was promoted to corporal.

I met my husband in October 1952, he was the brother of a friend. We had never met before. He proposed to me within one hour of our meeting and I accepted two days later, we became engaged on Christmas Eve 1952 and were married on February 7th 1953. After we were married we lived in Winton, Eccles. Before the war my husband was in the Territorial Army for four years. During the war he served in the R.A.S.C. in Egypt.

My son was born in 1954. My husband then became ill with T.B. After he died I had to return to work.

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