大象传媒

I was working in the box office of a local theatre when the tribunal, which decided what war work one did, informed me that my job was not considered necessary, and I should either go into a factory making munitions or else join one of the forces. It was 1942 and I was 22 years old.

I chose the forces but was seconded to the ATS, and in June I was sent to the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry barracks in Pontefract, Yorkshire.

We lived in Nissen huts, about 40 of us in each hut, with a sergeant in charge. There were medicals and haircuts for most of us, and we were issued with uniforms, which were supposed to be fitted! Endless drill and marching filled most days.

We want to go into cipher!

After three weeks we were all gathered together in the drill hall with a Senior Commandant in front of us. She proceeded to tell us what jobs were available and how many were needed of each kind: 200 cooks, 300 clerks, 100 drivers, etc. Just two of us sat still whilst all the others were signed up for what they chose.

The officer soon jumped on us and asked which we were down for. We said in unison, "None, we want to go into cipher." "Impossible," was the answer, "Very few are chosen for that." We insisted that we wanted to try, and in the end got permission to sit the IQ tests necessary for cipher.

(Cipher is a means of putting messages into letters or numbers so that they can be transmitted by teleprinter, wireless or even by telephone. Low grade cipher is reasonably simple, with grids to put messages on, much like a crossword puzzle. There was also a book cipher with numbers for words, which was more secure and was changed monthly through the whole country. Low grade was used only in Britain because it would be easy for an enemy to break it. High grade cipher was used for transmitting messages to and from Headquarters in Britain and to forces serving overseas.)

Low Grade Cipher School

The result was we both found ourselves, in the next week, on our way to London and the Low Grade Cipher School in Eccleston Square. We were right opposite the Brompton Oratory, and the crypt had been turned into a coffee shop. We often went over after lessons to have a coffee and meet people.

Lieutenant Trevelyn was a good teacher and we all passed our reasonably easy exams. We learned to make simple ciphers that could be used for messages between brigades and battalions [?]. They were not particularly secure but easily sent by wireless teleprinter or telephone. We played lots of tricks on the Lieutenant but he took it all in good part and we enjoyed the course.

Posted at last

Even after having great fun in wartime London, despite raids every night and lessons every day, we then had to wait until the War Office had vetted us and we had signed the Official Secrets Act. Now, I thought, I'll be posted.

I was sent to Peterborough to 2nd AA Division Signals and had to wait until they were sure I wasn't a spy. Then my first posting came to 41 Brigade at Horstead Hall near Coltishall in Norfolk. It was a large country estate with a beautiful house, which was the headquarters and officers' billet.

At first there were only two other girls beside myself, both telephonists, and me in charge of cipher. We were put into a huge Nissen hut with twelve beds and an iron stove, which burned coal, with a few chairs round it. There were other Nissen huts in the grounds, which were used for the male soldiers, mostly older men back from overseas duty. The mess was in the main house, as were all the offices, but there was a Nissen hut that housed the NAAFI, and in the evening anyone who was off duty gathered there.

Cigarettes, sweets and odds and ends were on sale. I soon found myself running this because there wasn't much to do in the way of messages. Sometimes I manned the teleprinter or the telephone switchboard. The signals office was next to the cipher room, and Sergeant Jelly was in charge of signals.

Sten gun on automatic

There was also a Permanent Staff Instructor in the place. He lectured the staff in the use of guns and rifles etc. I had a rifle in the cipher room but I'd never used one. The Staff Instructor thought I ought to have instructions so that I could guard the cipher, so he and Sergeant Jelly decided to give me lessons in the grounds one summer afternoon.

They brought a Sten gun for me to practise with. The SI showed me how to hold it on my hip and how to put it from single shot into automatic. I watched carefully and decided to have a go. I settled it in place and pulled the trigger. It was on automatic and I couldn't stop it. I swung round to ask what to do and both sergeants vanished onto the ground behind some trees, one of them yelling, "Throw it down!" They both decided that it would be best if I used the butt end to stop intruders.

Bombing and provisions

Norwich was bombed nightly and our AA batteries along the coast were kept busy. They decided I needed a deputy clerk, and a young Lance Corporal arrived to help. The hut I was in was cleared and just us two were billeted there. By now there were twelve other ATS on the site, drivers and clerks mainly. The office got busy and we took it in turns to do day or night duty.

Any day I was off duty, the SI would take me recce'ing with him. He knew if a large house had been requisitioned and he'd be the first to see what the garden or conservatory had in the way of fruit or vegetables. The kitchen always used what we brought back.

Then each soldier was given 7d a day extra. I used to get it from the Supply Officer and go to the NAAFI stores in Norwich to buy for our NAAFI and the kitchen. We could get tinned fruit and juice sometimes, cigarettes and chocolate; but the cigs were mostly ones that the government issued and not very good. Any known makes were scarce. Still, the gardeners were always grateful for what I couldn't sell and gave us fruit etc in exchange.

There was a large Operations Room in Norwich, and I think this was why it was so often targeted. The Army put a ring of ZAA batteries round the city. They were like six shells mounted on a gun site and were all fired at once. The shell that held the charge fell to earth after finding a target and caused a great deal of damage to roofs of houses.

Transfer

We often held a dance in the ballroom of the house and the colonel in charge of Divisional HQ came to one of these. He approached me in the evening and asked if I was happy where I was. I said yes, and then he asked if I'd be willing to do a swap with another corporal at Cambridge. I said no. He explained that it was a compassionate posting because this girl's mother lived in Norwich and was very ill. He said he was able to get me on the next High Grade Cipher Course in London, which would mean promotion. After some deliberation I agreed to the transfer, and found myself at the Fitzwilliam Manor House just outside Cambridge by Easter.

(You can read what happened next to Jessie in her story 'London High Grade Cipher School').

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