大象传媒

Here:Holland.
December was very cold and snowy.
Sinterklaas and Christmas celebrations were past.
We were eagerly waiting for the day of departure to London.
Why took it so long??We were turned inside /out twice by the British and Dutch Secret Service. Did they need more time to check the backgrounds of the about 50 girls who had signed up?After all most of Holland was still under German occupation.
They must have been able to do that though as a few girls had been eliminated already.
Finally we were told":IT was GO".

One would think that it would be etched in my mind for ever.Not so:I was so overwhelmed by what happened that memories became a blur:Leaving one's country,would we ever return,what would be our life in the Dutch East Indies??Then our first flight in an aeroplane-I'm sure it was a Dakota-landing in England, impression after impression.

After the landing we were taken to a large hotel. Where??NO clue:It was warm and so pleasant after the plane ride.
We each got a room.
Many Americans were billeted in the same hotel: 50 girls from an occupied country?That had to be checked out.
Some received pieces of paper shoved under their door with questions 脿nd invitations.

But we were kept busy. We were to get our uniforms :british ones and a black beret with a metal lion behind an orange background. ORANGE: Our queen who barely escaped the Nazzi's was: "Queen Wilhelmina of the HOUSE OF ORANGE"

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