´óÏó´«Ã½

This story was given by Olga Wilford who worked in Nottinghamshire during the war. Mrs Wilford gave the story to a People's War volunteer and understands our terms and conditions.

My husband John was working for the RAF putting up the first radar towers in England and Scotland. I drove ambulances and worked in hospitals during the war.

We were based at Radcliffe on Trent and I lodged with a family who’s son was away and I always knew them as Uncle and Aunty Cherry. They lived near the depot and took me as I was based there but it was just like home for me. We drove big American ambulances on 3 shifts 8 until 3, 3 until 10pm and overnight 10pm until 8am which was the hardest.

The phone would go and we’d have three minutes to go, we knew the area really well and covered the whole of Nottinghamshire county not doing just bombs but the other day to day stuff like accidents. We’d go into Nottingham to help them out if they needed it and there was never any panic. I was 20 then and had a good time I loved doing the job — it was a job that needed doing. Although it was a different time and era and for that time, the job needed doing and by women. I started in about 1940 and worked for about 18 months.

We also used to do volunteer nursing in the hospitals — we were supposed to go home and rest between shifts but we used to go and help out . I’d done my St John’s training and worked as a volunteer on the ambulances before doing it full time. I’d driven since I was a child as my grandfather had a lot of land and taught me.

Two incidents I remember are when they bombed Boots on London Road in Nottingham and hundreds of rats came out of the cellars and you could see them moving up London Road which was horrible. And one night the army had a search light set up in the field next to the ambulance depot which I thought was pretty stupid as the Germans kept trying to bomb where the searchlight was and we were next door.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.