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15 October 2014
WW2 - People's War

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1939 - 1944 A.T.S

by Gloscat Home Front

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Archive List > United Kingdom > London

Contributed byÌý
Gloscat Home Front
People in story:Ìý
Phyllis Graham (Nee Barnard)
Location of story:Ìý
Chatham, Kent
Background to story:Ìý
Royal Air Force
Article ID:Ìý
A4320857
Contributed on:Ìý
01 July 2005

End of war street party. Chatham

June 1939 I joined the Women’s Territorial Army which was newly formed. In August of that year I received calling up papers to report to the Royal Engineers Barracks at Chatham. It was an extremely hot August and from light summer clothes and sandals I wore a uniform which was thick and heavy with khaki bloomers, lisle stockings and leather lace-up shoes which blistered my feet!

I was billeted out at Rochester. When the sirens sounded on September 3rd, and minutes after war was declared, I hurriedly cycled to the Barracks.

My day consisted of working in shifts 6 am to 2 pm and 2pm to 6pm, seven days a week and my pay was one shilling per week (12½ pence). I also did a night duty which was quite frightening — patrolling the Barracks while others slept and the German bombers flew overhead on their way to London, often dropping bombs in Kent on the way. They followed the river Medway and on moonlight nights were very visible.

To begin with I worked in the stores issuing uniform to newly appointed men. These men were given three days training, then we waved goodbye to 1000 men each day as they went to fight in France.

When the young smiling soldiers returned to be fed and rest they were dirty, tired and greatly aged, with many we had known briefly not returning.

I married a Royal Marine Instructor in 1943. We saw little of each other because he worked also seven days a week with three night duties. To get my Army discharge we decided to have a family and my son was born in 1944. I felt so guilty then, bringing a child into such a wicked world. As I lay in the nursing home in the corridors, the bombs dropped overhead.

When the family had moved from the Medway towns to a safe area we rented a house. Luckily we had a cellar because when the doodle bugs began we could hear them stopping overhead. The Battle of Britain took place over our garden in Chatham and often a German plane was shot down close by. When the rockets began to fall it was awful because they were quite silent and we did not know when they were going to fall.

My most exciting day was when our troops began an invasion of Normandy and as they progressed into France I felt the war might end and my son could then grow up in a safer world.

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