大象传媒

A few days before WWII was declared, 100 girls ages 14- senior staff left Express Dairies Head Office, Tavistock Place, London, bound for Frome, Somerset. A skeleton staff stayed in London to co-ordinate the work with those in Somerset. Many had not been away from home before and most left families in London. As one of the teenagers I was billeted in an empty shop, bare boards, cold water & supplied with a bed, bedding & a bedside locker. We lived out of cases until our hostel wsa ready. Meals were served at another house in the town. Part of this served as a 'sick bay'.

The river near our offices and evantual hostel flooded most winters & omne office ( a barn type building) the flood water came in one end of the building & was swept out at the other! The hostel - dormitories upstairs, office downstairs, contained abotu 6 bathrooms, ironing & drying room for a laundry & a badminton court, which later contained mattresses where we sheltered duing air raids on Bristol & Bath. Oftern in the morning - not sure at first whether you were upstairs or down!

Our employers arranged for us to use the local Masonic Hall as a social club which we opened to members of H.M Forces & we supplied refreshments & dances (mostly Victor Sylvester records), played cards & table tennis etc. Forces visitors were stationed locally and included Dunkirk survivors.

We arranged dances & sent out invitations to various camps including Warminster School of Infantry. In return we were invited to camp dances and transported to & from in Army lorries.

Our fares were paid by the firm for regular visits home (monthly) & most of us were involved locally with British Red Cross or A.R.P duties, manning telephones etc.

Our stay in Frome lasted until after V.E. Day & we were back at our desks in London before V.J. Day.

All through the war our work was brought from & returned to London via the firm's lorries as many omore firms carreid on their businesses despite raids and blackout & various other difficulties and their staff - perhaps especially the teenagers - grew up in that time!

This story was submitted to the People's War Website by Christina Cazalet of CSV Action Desk Leicester on behalf of Winifred Williams and has been added with her permission. The author fully understands the sites's terms and conditions

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