大象传媒

This story is taken from an interview with Rosaleen Seager, and has been added to the site with their permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions. The transcription was by Bruce Logan.
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I was standing with father in the doorway of my room when the bombs in Belfast went off.
The same night they bombed the library. They carried books all the way up to the Lisburn Road.

I left in 42 to join the RAF. I joined WAAF in Belfast in 1942, October.

We went to Insworth in Glasgow where we were kitted out. So upset when the female sergeant major, Major Smitty, called us everything but what we were christened. Basic training at Morcombe Bay. Stationed with landladies. Madam was lovely, her husband was in Germany fighting. She had 3 lovely children. Went then to my first station, Cranwell College to learn about how to be a teleprint operator. Learning how to touch-type, and on teleprinter to receive messages. 8 hr shifts. Attached to signal father. Then sent to Sheffield to learn how to use multiple switch board, telephone exchange.

Wonderful landlady 鈥� she owned a wonderful shop. We always had lovely meat and meat soup of (products). A friend spoke to the next door neighbour, and she said, because of landlady around the hopeflask shop in the town.

Then went to St Athams in South Wales 鈥� training for flight engineers 鈥� I was their telephonist. I used to sew their wings on for the engineers. I was bombed over there. Went to Cheltos.

Stationed near Carlisle (Logtown) when the Duke of Kent took off and crashed into the mountains outside Logtown.
In Bristol when they were bombed there. Sent to Pocklechurch (now a ladies prison). Could ice the flasks over Bristol.

I came to Ballykelly in 1943-4 as telephonist. Lord Montgomery鈥檚 mother lived nearby, they used to bring her across every week to get her food.

The Salvation Army always gave food. Chips, buns tea and coffee. Even if you were broke you went down to the 鈥淪ally Ann鈥� and they always gave. You took off your hat and went in and said a prayer and they gave you food.

I went to Castle Archdale and served with Canadians as their telephonist and got away from Canadians. I could green anyone else! They were a good laugh. Irvinestown was great fun. Dancing, singing 鈥�

I worked from 8am to 4pm if a day shift. Whoever came on to 4pm-8pm. Night shift was 8pm to 8am. Always 2 on, at least so you were never on your own. It depended what operations was on 鈥� if places were out you were up. Workplace was in the hangar. very small. Responsible for all incoming and outgoing calls.
3 on switchboard duty on bad nights.
The boys gave them extra rations.

422 and 423 Sqdns, RCAF. Sunderlands and Catalinas. It was the RAF who flew the planes and fixed them.

Irvinestown cemetery is really well looked-after.
They were restricted to time. Dances in the village 鈥� they brought wire-cutters, sneaked out, then later could go back.

While training at Cranwell College, she and 2 other WAAFS couldn鈥檛 get transport in a truck to London. They hitched a lift on a 鈥淨ueen Mary鈥�, a huge transporter used to move plane parts. They were going to see 鈥淕one with the Wind鈥�.

She was sent to the Middle East on the Mauritania.
They went down the Irish Sea. When they got to the Bay of Biscay it was freezing. No heating until the Med! 4 bunks per cabin, couldn鈥檛 swing a cat!
It was horrendous 鈥� you didn鈥檛 know what was worse, that or the desert. No toilets in the desert, just a tent with a big hole, wooden seats. Extra pay for living in tents 鈥� but nothing to spend the money on.

She caught typhoid fever at Aimaza in the desert in Egypt. There were lots of people in the Cairo Hospital from the station. Italian POWs who didn鈥檛 want to go home did the cooking. There were no proper facilities.

Down the road was Huxter, the US camp. They gave all sorts, and invited tyhem to dances.

In 1945 the Egypt Emergency was over, so they were sent to Palestine. The Palestine police were being disbanded. At Rosalin Station they had to stem the influx of DPs from Europe.
6 WAAFs were on a wooden-seat train to Jerusalem, to the St George鈥檚 Hotel. She met her husband on the train 鈥� he was a Flight Lt. as grounded aircrew he was a founder member of the RAF Regt. If aircrew did a certain number of ops they were grounded.
They got married in Palestine.

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