大象传媒

This story has been submitted to the People's War site by Jan Moore for Kent Libraries and Archives and Canterbury City Council Museums on behalf of Joyce Nicholls and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1940. Before that, my home was in Swalcliffe, Oxfordshire and I had to go to Oxford for my medical and tests.
A week later, I got my railway warrant and directions to go to Aldermaston Court, near Reading.
I did three weeks training; drills, lectures, innoculations, uniform and so on.
I was then posted to the 3rd Hants company (ATS) and attached to 57th Wessex Royal Artillery.
At HQ, I collected my tin helmut, gas mask and gas cape.
A corporal met me at Portsmouth station and took me to 213 battery gun site (3.7 guns) on the Portsdown hills.
I was made an orderly in the mens Mess and had to lay all the tables, then wash up all the plates in a large, high tank. After a while, I was promoted to the Sergeant's and then the Officer's Mess.
After a few weeks, I was promoted again and went to HQ. This was a requisitioned Jubilee Home for the Blind at Wymering, on the road to Fareham.
We moved to a new drill hall at Cosham,near Portsmouth.
When the 57th regiment went away, all the ATS staff were split up and I was sent to Fort Fareham, where I was a plotter. I had to watch the plotters working on the main maps and then note all the details. These were then used for inquiries, after operations eg. raids, hostile craft, heights.

I was off duty in the barrack room on a bright afternoon. There was a surprise raid. We looked out of the window and saw a lone German aircraft coming in fast and low. I could even see the pilot's helmet and goggles. He dropped a bomb which caused a lot of damage just a short distance away.
The force of the explosion caused all the rabbit runs to lift up (the rabbits were used to keep the grass short) and every single one of them escaped!

On another occasion the Princess Royal came in her ATS uniform and inspected us.

A corporal now, I was based in a house called Broadlands on the Isle of Wight. I had a 24 hour pass, which I used to get to the mainland to visit a friend. We took a ferry from Portsmouth back to the island, but we had to be diverted around the area where the D-Day forces were massing.

I had further moves to Dorchester and Andover, working with the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers and Royal Ordnance Corps.

I left my last posting at Middle Wallop to start a family, but I remember that the pay was 9 shillings a week, with a little more for long service.

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