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I traveled to Northampton via Euston on a specially designated train. We were met at the station by army trucks with open backs and no seating. I expected the soldiers to handle my luggage as a gentleman would have done on civvy street, but I came down to earth with a bump, realising that I was just one of a mass of raw recruits and had to carry my own case. We were dropped off into very unfamiliar surroundings known as the Talavera Camp, this was situated on Northampton’s park, known as the Racecourse.

We were instructed to call at different buildings to collect our uniforms and equipment, and then shown to our wooden and Nissan huts, known as 'sleeping quarters’. These looked like a hospital ward with 20 beds lined along each side of the wall. A lady with one stripe on her uniform instructed us, and we were told she was a Lance Corporal and we should apply to her should we need any help. We were escorted about the camp for various lectures and drill parades, until it all became a familiar scene. After three weeks training some recruits were posted away to other camps and a few, including me, remained attached to HQ Company as Privates.

We learnt that several ladies in Northampton had volunteered to join the army prior to the outbreak of war. They kept the title of ' volunteers’ throughout their service and had special privileges such as being allowed to live at home and report for duty each day. Some were billeted in large houses in Kingsthorpe Hollow, but when a large influx of conscripts was called up the accommodation on the Racecourse, which was already housing militia men was made available women. Talavera camp covered approximately half of the Racecourse area in a fenced enclosure; the remainder was left to provide a recreation area for local people. Unfortunately for us the people of Northampton did not take to girls in uniform, and often showed resentment as they felt we had 'pinched' their Racecourse!

Men from the Fifth Battalion, who were housed in the barracks in Barrack Road remained to help the ladies become soldiers. Several Sergeants showed the women how to drill on the barrack square, although in time a lot of 'service-man's jargon’ had to be forgotten -the language was not suitable for ladies! As more time passed and ATS personnel took over drill, the more complicated manoeuvres, such as those still seen today on Horseguard's Parade were discontinued, as they were not necessary. A contingent of Privates was detailed for heavy duties, such as moving coke, grass cutting, painting, carpentry and plumbing. The Pioneer Corps was in charge of the guard room which was situated at the Bailiff Street end of the Racecourse.

Captains Downes and Lovesy, RSM Johnson (a male) and Colour Sergeant Pond were detailed to make sure that we learnt how to run a military camp, and they certainly achieved their objective. They then left us to carry on, and the camp was a very happy and efficient concern. Our officers and staff were very professional. The 'rookies' who came to us left after three weeks knew how to conduct themselves in His Majesty's uniform with pride.

The huts were grouped into companies, around ablutions and latrines. There were four companies, all at different stages of training, on a rota system. Coal and coke were used to heat the water, which was a job done by men. At about 5 am one would hear them stoking up ready for the rush at 6 am, which was announced by a bugle call known as 'Reveille'. The Pioneer Bugler, who had manned the guard room all night, would wake the camp in this manner every morning. Other bugle calls told the whole camp what was expected according to what call was made. Post call was the favourite one. Each company had a number and a colour, so it was easy to find a Private in about two thousand girls. A letter would be addressed thus, No.4 Coy, Hut 5D. The post clerk would, on hearing the call, go and collect the mail for that company. It was an extremely well run camp.

Next on the camp came Headquarters Offices, situated close to the guard room.
Further down came the Officers' Mess at the Barrack Road end of the Racecourse, along with a small hospital, dentistry and Medical Officer's Surgery. The hospital was staffed by VAD nurses, who had officer status and had to be saluted if met on the camp. Dotted around this end of the camp were food stores and the Catering Company. The office of the Clerk of Works was manned by civilians. It was their job to keep all buildings in working order, and any repairs required would be reported to them. Very often, however, they would be reported to me first. Eventually as Quartermaster Sergeant it was part of my remit to notice whether the buildings and barrack equipment were in good order. Normally, this included such items as broken door hinges, cracked windows, dripping taps etc. and the frequent problem of blocked toilets. I remember on one occasion, during the winter, going to investigate just such a malfunction. As the weather was cold I wondered whether the cistern had frozen over, and removed the cast iron cover. I was fascinated by what I saw –clinging under the lid were hundreds of greyish-white blowflies hibernating until the warm weather came again. I realised that the sun must give them the beautiful greeny-blue colour when they emerge once more in the spring .It was also part of my job to read the water meters, in order to record the volume of water consumed on the camp. The
stop cock was in the ground not far from the offices of HQ Company offices. The huge tap located there had leaked and formed a small pond of fresh water which had been colonised by lot of little frogs. Fortunately I am fond of all creatures and it did not bother me to do this duty, but I can imagine what a fright it would be to some women. The Racecourse was so a rich source of insects. On one occasion when the weather was very hot several members of the Sergeants' Mess decided to sleep outside. We brought out e bedding, and after a Jot of giggling settled down to what we thought would be romantic night under the stars. It didn't last; a storm blew up and up and decided to take cover we found we found the sheets blankets had been invaded by loads of earwigs.

We had a tailoress workroom for altering uniforms to fit. You can imagine how busy they were when an intake of new recruits came in every week. Sometimes it was necessary to contract the surplus work out of the camp and a shop in Bailiff Street, called Higgins Tailors, was used.

The Officer Commanding, called Mrs. Raynsford, operated from the 'Adjutant's Office', near to St Georges Avenue. The garage repair sheds were opposite the guardroom. For recreation we had some grass tennis courts. A lady gardner tended flax, which was grown in the centre of the camp. In a dip in the ground an incinerator worked overtime, sometimes burning louse-filled clothing, but more usually a constant supply of soiled sanitary towels, an unpleasant job done by men.

When an intake of recruits came in about ten of them, on average, would need
cleaning from some sort of lice. After I was promoted to Corpora], I would be
detailed on to what was known as the 'Nit Parade', which meant inspecting new
recruits for lice. I found those infested were mostly peroxide blondes, as they were then called, who had to be separated until clean. The recruits had ‘jabs' and body inspections, and sometimes those at the back of the queue would pass out –hardly surprising, as needles used for injections in those days were brutal -the same one would refilled until quite blunt!

Once conscription made joining up compulsory, there were always some recruits who went absent without leave (AWOL) - as soon as possible. Some stayed and cried for several days until they got used to their fellow rookies, made friends, or decided that the military life was not so bad after aIl. It was surprising to me that out of a weekly intake of approximately I50 girls, most actually enjoyed it. It was hard going for them. Many discomforts had to be overcome, such as the uncomfortable iron beds with three stuffed straw mattresses - hard and uncomfortable. These would separate during the night, so one learned to wrap a blanket round them to hold them together. The physical discomfort, together with being in a room with 20 other girls, meant a good night’s sleep was difficult. Some snored, some talked in their sleep. Others groaned or moved noisily from their beds to visit the toilet. Being a light sleeper I found it particularly bard. The huts were damp and cold, and there was often a shortage of hot water.

The food was not to the taste of many. On one occasion we learned that we were
being served horse meat, it was very tough and dressed in onions, which repeated on my stomach. Normally, knife, fork and spoon in hand, we would line up meals. Food was dispensed on to the plate each girl was pushing along the counter. We then sat on forms against well-scrubbed tables to eat, joke and be silenced when we got too rowdy by the Orderly Sergeant. A strolling Orderly Officer would ask if there were any complaints -it was most unusual if a Private said ‘yes' -we were too scared!

Our shoes were ‘Oxford' shape, which we spat on and polished for hours. One's feet took time to shape them to be comfortable. In the mornings, we would sit on our beds and polish our brass buttons and cap badges. Otherwise, when on parade with dirty buttons, one faced being put on a charge or getting a reprimand. Such importance must have been placed on this detail that years after leaving the army I used to have nightmares about being on parade with dirty cap badge and buttons.

When I was made up to Staff Sergeant I would be detailed to inspect the huts and the personnel's clothing. 'Kit inspection' as it was called required that all items were laid out on the bed, and the condition of the garments would sometimes reveal who had scabies or VD. Another inspection, which was carried out by the Medical Officer looked in particular for pubic lice and pregnancy. When lice were detected clothing was destroyed. A red sash was issued to me to indicate that I had been appointed Orderly Sergeant. This meant I had extra duties to perform, such as patrolling the camp at night to see that all was well. I had to ensure that no-one was ill; and the girls were tucked in bed as they should be. It as necessary to 'man' the 'phone on a 24 hour basis, as messages could come at any time into the camp. Sometimes, a convoy of drivers would have to stop the night, and accommodation, bedding and food would have to be found for them. I had to attend to late-comers in the guard room, sometimes putting them on a charge, particularly if they were drunk and disorderly. I had to liaise with Military Police for those who had gone AWOL.
Finally it was necessary to call the cooks from their beds, as breakfast for several
hundred must be prepared.

One night I got a fright! A message came that an invasion attempt had been made and the sea on the south coast was on fire. Our Officer Commanding had special envelopes to open for just such occasions. She then ordered that trenches were to be dug, and the camp made ready for evacuation. After some time we received another message to say it had been a false alarm. Many years later I learnt about the event which had triggered the incoming orders. There is a memorial to the American troops lost when the sea caught fire at Slapton Sands, near Totnes in Devon. Full details were kept secret for many years.

The night of I4th November I940 I shall never forget. I stood with some others on the top barrack square and watched the northern sky alight with flames, and later found that it was Coventry burning. We were a very sad group.

When I first entered the service we had to shower in a row without any cubicle curtains. Because this was the way the men washed, it was 'automatic’ in army thinking that the women would do the same. We all found it very embarrassing, so most decided to bath instead. Soon the hot water ran out and the bath plug
disappeared. At first I tried to plug the hole with soap or flannel, but this proved unsatisfactory and I very soon bought my own plug.

Dealing with people from different backgrounds often caused surprises. I was asked to take a class for drill and cross country running. This posed me no problem as I had Iearnt basic driII in the GirIs' Life Brigade Iong before joining the army; I had enjoyed improving on this as a recruit myself, and was happy to pass on my knowledge. I soon developed the knack of shouting orders to the platoon, and got good results until I was stumped when we received group bargee recruits. They were unable to tell left from right. I tried “you are going to turn left, that's the hand in which you hold a fork'". No good, they came from backgrounds where cutlery was not used! Eventually I resorted, to 'port’ and 'starboard’ as they were familiar with boating jargon.

The object of the training centre was to turn raw recruits into trained soldiers – a tall order as we only had three weeks. After training the girls were posted away to specialist smaller units where they would undergo training again to do what was then thought of as 'a man's job’. Before they Ieft us, however, they must know how to obey orders instantly, look smart on parade, and perform drill. We had arranged that their uniforms fitted properly, and they knew the insignia on the sleeves of the officers and other ranks. They were told what standard of cleanliness was expected of them, and how to achieve it, both bodily and in the barrack room.

For the first three months in service they were only allowed a ‘short 48 hours' leave. By the time this was granted, we hoped they had developed a little 'esprit de corps’. It was evident on church parades when the regimental march applicable to any unit was played, that the transformation of ‘belonging’ had indeed taken place, as the girls would stand particularly proudly. ‘The Lincolnshire Poacher’ was the regimental march tune of the unit to which I was attached. It was a magnificent sight when church parade was held. About I500 girls would march to St Sepulchre’s Church, led by the Regimental Band of the 5th Battalion. Someone from each company, usually a Lance Corporal known as a 'marker', would leave the church just before the end of the service and take up position. They would be drilled to stand evenly spaced to signal the spot on which each company must assemble for the return journey. The whole parade would stretch from Church Lane on to The Mounts. As Senior NCO of Headquarter Company it would my job to shout the order to set them all marching back to camp. My voice was inadequate for such a Iarge job, and they sometimes came: to attention in a very ragged fashion which I found acutely embarrassing. Once back at the camp we would be served tea, and would go into the NAAFI or over to Nelson Hall (now demolished) in Nelson Street, just off the Barrack Road, which was manned by volunteers - often the Salvation Army who were a Godsend to the ATS women.

At Christmas time we would take a few of the girls and a lamp around the camp singing carols. I remember entering the small hospital to sing 'Silent Night' which was very moving. It was the job of the officers to serve Christmas dinner to the troops. One year the Christmas puddings somehow sank into the water in which they were being heated. A salvage operation was quickly required, and we put them into ovens to dry them out. It was a scramble, but no-one complained when they were served with loads of custard which was reaIIy to cover our mistake. We were the ones doing the complaining when it came to washing up, however, as there was plenty of hot water but not a drop of liquid soap could be found. We somehow had to clean greasy dishes, which turned into a long job and was very messy.

During my time as Company Quartermaster Sergeant I was responsible for pay and equipment: We had stores for every conceivable object which might be necessary on the camp, and girls from lower ranks were detailed to manage the equipment and report to me accordingly. Pay was varied in the order of those whose surnames commenced A-M on early parade one week, then N-Z the following week. Initially I paid not only the 250 girls of HQ Company but also the men who were attached to us for very heavy duties from Gibraltar Barracks, together with the VAD’s who operated our small hospital. After a while the Catering Corps also came on to my pay role, boosting the numbers to six-hundred. On pay days someone would be detailed to go and collect the money need to fill pay packets. Sometimes it would be an officer in a car, at other times it would be me on my bike. I would set off with a cheque in hand and would ride, unaccompanied to the bank. It never occurred to me, or anyone else that I would be robbed. The cash would be in bags with handles that I could slot on to the handlebars and then ride back to camp where the officers would check it. It was
mostly supplied in small change average wage weekly wage was between 2/6-
(12 pence) and 12/6- (62 pence) - even less if your pay had been 'docked’ because you were paying a fine or making recompense for lost equipment.

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