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My mother, Minna Chatrine Tofte, met my father, Len Scott, in the Dolomites in 1935, and came to England two years later. They travelled in Germany in the 1930s, so they were under no illusions about the real imminence of war. Early in 1939 my mother joined the ATS, and in August she was called up -- and left with her Scots terrier, Ib Fidelius Aedeltand ("Ib Faithful Noble-tooth", named after a fictional Danish dog!)

Beauty competition

On 26 October she wrote: ‘Last night there was a beauty competition at a concert in St. Andrew’s Hall. As it was for members of the A.T.S. I entered Ib, but he was eventually disqualified owing to being the ‘wrong shape’ in spite of overwhelming enthusiasm from most of the soldiers present!’ Shortly after this Ib was officially adopted as the Company Mascot and appeared with them in group photographs.

Her intelligence, organisational ability and language skills soon gained her a place in Movement Control, but in 1940 the Germans invaded Denmark, and her position changed dramatically.

Army School of Cookery

She was removed from Movement Control, and summoned before her Commanding Officer, who said: ‘There is a question I am obliged to ask you. Have you Nazi sympathies?’ Her reply: ‘My family and all my friends are in German hands. I don’t know what has happened to them. Am I likely to sympathise with Germans?’ She was always reluctant to say anything about this, but the result was that she was transferred to another unit, that controlling the comings, goings, promotions, disciplines and general administration... of the Army School of Cookery! In a letter she commented bitterly that ‘...the Sergeant-Major in Movement Control has a German wife!’

She was promoted, but -- we suspect -- it was partly because she worked harder than most, was not popular, and was in any case regarded as a 'foreigner'. Her description of an ATS Christmas suggests the beginnings of more serious problems:

Sober Christmas

'Christmas Day we had dinner at the School, the whole company. The NCOs waited on us and on the men in a mess for 500. They sang between the soup and the meat. I burst into tears because of the din and had to be taken away. So I had my Christmas dinner in solitary state in a quiet room. When I had calmed down a bit after dinner I tried to be a sport and went with the other A.T.S to the Sergeants’ Mess where we were supposed to wait on them at dinner. What a crowd! Drunk and stupid and offering everybody drinks. I did not have any and found occasion to leave quite soon as somebody had to go and prepare the tables for afternoon tea in our own mess. But it was a loathsome experience, imagine it was an absolute crime to be sober.'

She began to suffer from constant headaches, and in March 1941 the Medical Officer decided she should go to Mill Hill Emergency Hospital in North London ‘for observation’. We now suspect that she had suffered a nervous breakdown, though this was far from clear at the time.

Fixed period of home leave

A Medical Board finally assembled in early October and my mother was granted a fixed period of home leave. The final discharge certificate was not signed until 5 January 1942. This shows her as serving from 19 April 1939 (the date she volunteered) until 18 January 1942 - two years and 275 days. Height: 5 feet 3 inches; Complexion unspecified; Eyes: Grey. Hair: Blonde. Described as a clerk-typist (Corporal) of ‘M’ Company, Group 2 London District, the cause of her discharge was ‘ceasing to fulfil the physical requirements.’ On the reverse of the Certificate is an ‘Assessment of Conduct and character on leaving the Auxiliary Territorial Service’:

‘W/13505 . Surname: Scott. Military conduct: Very good. Testimonial: A very capable typist. The above assessment has been read to the member. Signed: M.C.Scott’.

This was almost derogatory. The conduct categories were: Exemplary, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair. 'Very good' is not very good. As for the ‘capable typist’ she had run an office, often single-handed and had earned a sergeant’s stripes. Her refusal to accept promotion had pursued her to the end. There was no assessment of ‘character’.

You can read more about my mother in Journey through the Blitz, An Alarming Incident, Mail from England - Joy and Grief in Algiers, and Flying Bombs over Warlingham.

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