大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War website by a volunteer from CSV on behalf of Catherine Lambert. Catherine Lambert fully understands the site's terms and conditions, and the story has been added to the site with her permission.

I joined the WAAF in February 1940 as a Baloon Rigger Fabric Worker (mending barrage balloons!). In 1942 I was commissioned as a code and cypher officer.

January 1944 I was posted to Blackpool for posting overseas. From there we went to Liverpool to board ship, then straight up to Gourock on the River Clyde to join the main convoy. It was very exciting and quite stately in a way, with all those other ships surrounding ours, we felt safe. We were assigned a first class cabin holding 8 bunk beds, 16 of us sharing. Every available space on board taken up, even hammocks in the corridor.

Meals were taken in two shifts, the whole thing was very well organised. On board were the whole cast of Irving Berhnis' Show "This is the Army," so we had ready made entertainment. On the last night on board we saw the whole show. The actual journey was fairly boring. There was the fascination of watching a stray mine pass our ship, watching the aircraft sending off its planes to keep watch over the convoy.

I cannot think of the right word, but the feeling of protection and safety of being escorted down the Irish sea, the Bay of Biscay and into the Mediterranean to Algiers, surrounded by all those ships, it was quite an emotional time. We would stand at the railings speculating on how many ships there were etc.

I can remember I spent most of our time playing cards, I learned a few card games, poker, cribbage, brag, twenty one, canasta and new market. It passed the time.

There was evening entertainment. I think we had a fancyt dress night. There was no smoking on deck at night obviously. Going down the coast of North Africa for me was quite magical. It was like a kaleidescope of images. Plenty of stories in my head. I am sure I saw a village with the usual block houses, but they were not white, they were pink! And of course, Rudolph Valentino came to mind, riding off into the sunset!

Arriving at Algiers was a wonderful sight. A long line of steps going straight up both sides of the landing stage, beautiful and - arriving into a storm of locusts!

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