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Irene Bennett’s Story

In 1941, shortly after the Sheffield Blitz, I joined the WAAF. I was 26 years old and engaged to be married. After a month’s training in Signals at RAF Cranwell, we were sent home on leave and I remember thinking I would probably be posted to somewhere like the wilds of Scotland, so it was a great surprise to hear that I’d been posted to Bomber Command at RAF Finningley in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
As my home was in Sheffield, the posting to Finningley suited me perfectly and sometimes I was able to sneak home between watches, but I was always careful to avoid being seen by the Redcaps, or Military Police as they are now called.

The office I was assigned to was also inhabited by about 5 other men who were the Morse Code operators; One of my jobs was to hand out information to the navigators who would come in to find out where they were being sent to that night. Although most of them were from the British Isles, there were also men from the USA, Poland Australia, Norway, Sweden and Canada.

I got on well with the my colleagues, and sometimes, when we were off duty, we would find a Pub in Doncaster where there was a piano. I would be sat down to play and they would gather round and have a sing-song. The Landlords loved it as it brought people into the Pub and we would all get free drinks.

This particular day in 1942, I was working in the office on a 12 - 4pm watch. A signal came through on the teleprinter giving details of the bombing target for that night, which was Essen. The message gave information on the number of aircraft going out from different airfields in the region, and the bombs they would be carrying. I didn’t realise it at the time but this operation was part of the now famous ‘1000 per night’ bombing raids which Air Vice Marshall Harris had instigated to target the cities of Germany.

I took the signal into the Operations Room and handed it to the Sgt. in charge. Shortly afterwards I was called into the office and asked, "Corporal, did you read the message you just brought in?" He seemed rather annoyed. I replied, "Partly Sir," to which he said, "I’m afraid you will be confined to camp this evening, because this is a terrible breach of security." I was surprised and wondered what was so special about the message. I told him that I had planned to go out with the boys that night. He explained that I could be talking to someone in the village and as it was a lovely moonlit night, I might innocently mention the bombing raids. I pointed out to him that I had signed the Official Secrets Act, but he still insisted that I stay on camp. Of course, then I couldn’t wait to get back and read the whole transcript.

Looking back, I now realise how serious it was, and why the Officer was so concerned. The message should have been in cipher.

I left the WAAF in 1944 to have my first child, but I still look back on those times at Finningley as the most memorable times of my life.

PR-BR

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