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15 October 2014
WW2 - People's War

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Our First Night Was Memorable

by Linda at Sutton Library - WW2 Site Helper

Contributed by听
Linda at Sutton Library - WW2 Site Helper
People in story:听
Mrs D Creswell
Location of story:听
Edinburgh and Dover
Background to story:听
Army
Article ID:听
A3964584
Contributed on:听
28 April 2005

This story was edited and submitted to the site by Linda Standen of Sutton Library Service with the author's permission. The
author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

In 1941 I volunteered for the Forces. My first choice the RAF was full and so it was the Army. I registered and was sent to Worcester Barracks for training. OUR FIRST NIGHT WAS MEMORABLE, most of us in tears, most never having been away from home before.
After training we were sent to Scotland as part of a new A.A Battery on the Craigentenny Golf Course, Edinburgh. My eyesight being very good I was trained as a Spotter and had to identify the Aircraft.
A wonderful place was Edinburgh in wartime, swarming with troops from all over. We were in Edinburgh for approx. 18 months training hard then we moved down to Yorkshire in two different short stays. Then off to Stockton-on-Tees where things began to liven up. We were close to the Aerodrome as usual and used to count the planes going out on raids each night. They used to circle over our camp to gain height. How we tried to keep awake if we weren't on duty to count them coming home.
When firing during a raid one night, we were told in the morning that a plane we thought we had hit came down over the coast, our very first.
After some time there we were off again, the war was hotting up and the Doodlebugs had started coming over, so they sent us down to the Romney Marshes, just outside Dover. The war had really begun for us. The Bugs came in 4 and 5 at a time each night but in spite of out efforts so many of them got through to London. I've never forgotten the plane that appeared one night and proceeded to try and tip the Bugs off course with his wing tips, it was breathtaking, and he actually managed to do it several times.
There was an American Battery of Light Guns quite near, and we were grateful for lifts as there was no transport of any kind.
We were under canvas on the Marshes and I returned back one morning after night duty to find a huge chunk of Metal on my bed, I was certainly glad that I hadn't been in it.
I would like to have gone overseas but married girls weren't allowed. I quite enjoyed my time in the Service, being an only child it was wonderful to have so many friends.
I was born in Aldershot, my Father was in the Army in the Medical Corp.
After the War I joined the Council of Industrial Design for 3 years, then running their Duplicating Dept. Then on to the British Oxygen Co. doing much the same plus the Stores. I was there about 3 years when I met my 2nd husband who had been there since the end of the war. He too was in the Army.

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This story has been placed in the following categories.

V-1s and V-2s Category
British Army Category
Kent Category
Edinburgh and Lothian Category
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