大象传媒

DOROTHY MARY WHATELY-SMITH n茅e AITKEN

A family friend, who was later commandant of the FANYs (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry), encouraged Dorothy to join them which she did in Glasgow on September 16, 1938 as war was threatening. Their role was to drive ambulances and staff cars. They were formed in World War 1. From January until July 1939 she went to complete her education in Switzerland. There were about 12 girls, mostly English but included Danes, Swedes and a Swiss German. From January to March they stayed in a chalet in Rougement and from April until July at Aubonne. She would have gone in September 1938 but for uncertainty about the war. Even so a planned trip to Italy with the rest of the group was cancelled and she returned home early via Paris which she visited with her family.

Back in Scotland she attended lectures in Glasgow on vehicle maintenance and helped fit gas masks at Maryhill Barracks, Glasgow. She was called up at 2.30pm on October 10, 1939. Her regimental number was W/21533. Her first billet was in a recreational hall and she had to provide her own camp bed. Pay was 9/2, that is nine shillings and two pence, weekly in the rank of private. A bath was 2/6 and as kit was limited she had to buy her own stockings. A day off was every ten days. Houses were requisitioned in Huntley Gardens, Glasgow by around Christmas 1939. One day while waiting to take a small ambulance with fumigated blankets to an infectious diseases hospital she unexpectedly found herself in a mortuary which was a bit of a shock. She remembers Anthony Eden, then a senior government minister, greeting the Canadians who arrived in the ship, The Andes, at Glasgow. She had had to drive the transport embarkation officer down to the King George V docks just after Christmas in 1940. She was listening to the cheers in a thick fog when a Policeman asked if she would like to see what was going on. She said yes so she went on to the quay. It was very cold. Loud cheers went up when she appeared and she was showered with letters, coins and badges from the Canadian troops being sent to France and used a wheelbarrow to collect these letters which were later censored by the authorities.

On one occasion took charts, maps and vaccines unescorted to Greenock. Once she had got there safely, she was asked if she would like to go on a launch to take the mail to the liners Queen Mary and Empress of Britain.

In January 1940 she was stationed in Ayr driving ambulances which were converted furniture vans. Her quarters were so cold that she often went to bed fully clothed. The week Glasgow was bombed, she was in the cellar when two houses along was hit. Later that week she was blown into the billet in Park Terrace after seeing one parachute bomb land. She was uninjured. In August 1941 she was sent to Buchanan Castle at Drymen which was a military hospital where Rudolph Hess, one of Hitler's closest aides, was taken after parachuting over Scotland. Her memory of that event was of tightened security. All one knew at the time was that someone important was being detained. While at Buchanan Castle a Canadian officer, who had seen Dorothy at the King George V docks at Christmas, decided to come and see her. He sent a letter with photo saying he would be at the Glasgow Central railway station at a certain time. She hesitated but her companions dared her to go which she did. He stayed five days at the Buchanan Arms near the castle. They corresponded until he went to France, probably on the disastrous Dieppe raid in 1942, after which she heard nothing so presumably he was killed.

A Polish regiment arrived when she was at Buchanan Castle. Her unit drove them and enjoyed their company. Dorothy and four colleagues were entertained at their camp where there were huge cauldrons of wild mushrooms. She remembers being taught a Cossack dance on the tennis courts. Captain Bielecki, a cavalry officer, became a very good friend. The two spoke French in order to communicate.

It was while carrying a soldier down five flights of tenement stairs in the Gallowgate, Glasgow that caused her back trouble. In her 70s she was awarded a disability pension by the Ministry of Defence in consequence. In December 1940 she had a back manipulation under anaesthetic at Buchanan Castle after which she was confined to bed for a week. She couldn鈥檛 walk when she got up. The result was light duties for three months in the quartermaster's office at 7 Claremont Gardens, Glasgow and no more military driving.

The FANYs became part of the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) in 1941 but were allowed to retain their identity by arm flashes and cap straps. In 1941 she was invited to the launching of HMS Manxman, a minelayer at Stevens shipyard, Glasgow by the engineer officer of the ship鈥檚 company. The same year when driving for naval Captain Cooper-Key, she remembers him telling her at Gourock to get in the back of the car and hide under a rug because of security. This was so that she could see the arrival of the Australians and New Zealanders. The latter performed a war dance on the quay.

In June 1942 when lance corporal she received a commendation from the Scottish Home Command at a special parade from the company commander. This has been framed with husband Peter's Mention in Dispatches, awarded in 1945. She was one of the first women to receive this honour which was given for running 6 houses and all the quartermastering for the 17th (Glasgow) Motor Company ATS when both the officer commanding and sergeant fell ill for several months. Soon afterwards the company divided and she was promoted staff sergeant. Her boss thought she was feigning back trouble and was out to give her a hard time.

Better times lay ahead as she passed a pre Officer Cadet Training Unit selection board at Leeds lasting two days. She was selected for OCTU training on May 18, 1943. Pre OCTU training took place in July at Glen Parva Barracks, Leicester lasting six weeks. She remembers cooking chips for 1000 and got lice after hanging her cap outside the cookhouse. The OCTU course at the Imperial Service College, Windsor lasted three months from autumn 1943. On occasional Sundays her course had to march to St George's chapel, Windsor Castle accompanied by a band. On other Sundays she had to pump the organ in the college chapel.

After the course she was posted as subaltern to Edinburgh as Quartermaster to a mixed ATS/RASC company. She was also responsible for doing the pay for 1000 troops at Leith Fort. The building was very damp. The Colonel decided she was very efficient and had her posted to Aberfoyle, near the Trossachs, to do the quartermastering and run a platoon of sixty women. The catering facilities were inadequate and she discovered that the male corporal was selling the meat in the village. She soon put a stop to that. One of the RASC (Royal Army Service Corps) privates had an aunt working in the Helensburgh fishmonger who reported back to Dorothy's mother. It was a very lonely place as she was the only woman officer. Part of her duties was that weekly she had to inspect their kit and vehicles plus give a talk on current affairs. On one occasion her vehicle broke down. In order to get help she walked to a nearby farm and borrowed a bicycle in order to find a phone. Help arrived at midnight. Once a week she was driven the 100 miles to Perth to get the unit's rations. Her platoon, attached to the RASC, was billeted in three locations with only a car for communication. Sheep used to walk in off the hills and walk over their beds. Nine of the sixty girls were made pregnant by a private who was a driver. She was so disgusted with the lack of facilities and indiscipline of male officers that she hitched a lift to HQ in Edinburgh to request a transfer. This was granted and she was recommended for staff college.

Before her course she was stationed in Glasgow going round all departments of Army District HQ to ' learn the ropes.' Her staff course took place at Bagshot Park, Surrey from November 3, 1944 to January 25, 1945. Having passed out of staff college as Junior Commander she was posted to South Wales as i/c of an ATS platoon that drove ambulances. One of her girls let an orderly drive a big Bertha (ambulance) which overturned, killing one patient. She successfully pleaded for her in court. This was the second such incident, the first being in Jedburgh during her posting to Edinburgh. In order to inspect her platoon she had to travel as far as Manobier and Tenby each week. While at Carmarthen she remembers there was a break out of inmates at a German POW (prisoner of war) camp in Bridgend; the Brigadier mislaid his false teeth when the incident was reported! The chief commander ATS disliked the FANYs and made life difficult. She picked on Dorothy for dirty uniform which was difficult to keep clean when inspecting vehicles. The situation wasn't helped as her billet had no bath. In the evenings they went to cookery classes as the mess was men only.

She was then sent to Shrewsbury District HQ, her first proper staff posting. There the General asked if she had any army connections. She said yes as she had a cousin who was a colonel in the Royal Engineers. He said she would do and worked in administration, doing resum茅s of courts martial and looking after the posting of five military bands. One day she went to Rushbury House, her grandparents' old home, now an officers mess. Soon a posting arose; this was the Control Commission, transport section, for Germany. A week later a post arose at Field Marshal Slim's HQ in India but she had to accept the first one. She found herself in the same branch as a Major Peter Whately-Smith, Royal Artillery. He was on home leave when she arrived on July 4, 1945. She was stationed in the British Zone at Bad Oeynhausen. She flew there by Dakota, landing at an improvised air strip, flanked by ambulances as the pilot had to jettison fuel before landing. None of the passengers had flown before. The pilot of the plane following with their baggage, refused to land, flying on to Denmark instead.

Her initial recollection was of a beautiful country blown to bits. Gin was 2d a glass and there were no shops. She shared a cold flat and ate in an RASC (Royal Army Service Corps) mess. Most nights she went out to the 21 Club in Bad Oeynhausen which was for officers. She was briefly stationed at Bielefeld and she and Peter frequently went dancing at Bad Salzuflen where there was a good orchestra. They went riding once or twice and had a weekend leave in Brussels. She remembers going with Peter to the Bath House at Bad Oeynhausen to hear Yehudi Menuhin play the Mendelssohn violin concerto. He had been visiting a displaced persons camp. A popular drink was White Ladies which was gin based. The wartime gin was ghastly stuff. They drank champagne too. There were five in the office when she arrived. This soon rose to twenty-five. Most were civilian with military rank. They were not allowed to fraternise with the Germans.

The section was responsible for all transport matters within the British zone such as requisitioning civilian vehicles and redistributing them. Four new tractors were allocated monthly. They had to distribute petrol coupons too. She had to requisition any Mercedes cars owned by Germans. She recorded the registrations and had them called in and distributed to any officers requiring a car, including herself. The Brigadier's personal assistant, her junior, complained as she didn't have one. So Dorothy was made to give hers up but as Peter had one it made little difference. One day the driver of the fifteen hundredweight truck attached to the unit, saluted her, placed a red rose on her desk and said that if she ever came to Berwick on Tweed she was to look him up and that she would recognise the family farmhouse by its red blinds. She remembers him blushing with embarrassment.

The British zone lay in northern Germany in an area approximately between Kiel and Dusseldorf. Peter proposed at Nyborg in Denmark after getting a weekend pass and car from the General as all leave had been stopped. A car, which later broke down, was laid on at Kiel. Peter got a wink and a salute from the border guard as they went through. She went to see a school friend who had been in the Danish underground movement during the Nazi occupation. When Peter was demobbed in December 1945, she was promoted Senior Commander (equivalent of Major) in his place. She arranged her leave to coincide after which she returned to Germany.

She made periodic visits, driving herself in her personal, requisitioned Mercedes. She remembers the spivs standing outside the army HQ in Hamburg, hoping to obtain petrol coupons she was delivering for the Hamburg area. She was worried she might be mugged. She reported a member of the Control Commission based in Dusseldorf who had shown her his loot stored in an enormous cupboard. He was subsequently court-martialled. She went on leave on July 24, 1946 and was demobbed on September 30 that year. The weekend before going on leave she went to Berlin, travelling by overnight train from Bad Oeynhausen to Berlin. A car, driver and interpreter were laid on. Part of the trip included a visit to the ruined Reichstag (Parliament) building in the Russian zone. Amidst the rubble, her interpreter pointed out the remains of Hitler's red marble desk. She helped herself to a piece as a souvenir which she later gave to a grandson. While there, she took photos but the camera jammed. She went into a camera shop followed by two armed Russian soldiers of oriental origin who wanted her car. Both she and the German driver were scared stiff. The British Army Sergeant interpreter shoved her into the car, squeezed in beside with the Russians attempting to follow. The driver put his foot down and they sped through the Brandenburg Gate half expecting to be shot at as they made good their escape. Phew!

She had various farewell parties. The only German she can remember is 鈥淗ave you any eggs?鈥� as her mess only had reconstituted ones. When demobbed she had to go to Guildford and had her rail pass made out to Mull where she was going on honeymoon after marrying Peter at Helensburgh on August 6, 1946.

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