大象传媒

In September 1940 I joined the NAAFI, aged 18. I was posted to Collaton Cross RAF Barrage Balloon Centre between Yealmpton and Newton Ferriers as a trainee cook.
Our day began at 7.30, when all floors were scrubbed. Breakfast was at 8.30, and then the counters were stocked up, ready for morning break, with cakes, sandwiches, cigarettes and chocolate etc. Two girls took turns to clean out the kitchen ranges and light up ready for cooking cakes and heating water for the tea-urns, in time for opening the canteen at 10.30am for the Airmen鈥檚 morning break. Kitchen-wise we were busy making rock buns, cheese scone, jam puffs, Eccles, egg custard tarts, Nelson Squares etc. Lunch was between 1 and 2 pm, and suppers were served from 6 pm to10.30 pm. Suppers consisted of sausages, Beechwood pies, sometimes chops or egg and bacon pies with chips and peas, or mashed potatoes.

When an air-raid occurred, which was quite often, we closed down the ranges, put the food on top of the ovens and went to the air-raid shelters. If it was only a short raid, we popped everything back in the ovens and carried on as normal. We sometimes had an E.N.S.A concert, or local entertainment of an evening. We only had half a day off each week, and every six weeks a long weekend, which was Saturday and Sunday. The wages were 15/0d (shillings) per week, and half days were usually spent in Plymouth with a visit to the cinema and a cup of tea in a little caf茅 near St Andrews Church, before catching the last bus back to the camp.

On March 21st 1941, my boyfriend and I were waiting for a bus back to camp after having seen a film, when the Blitz began. Unfortunately, an incendiary bomb exploded too near, and we were injured from shrapnel and taken to the City Hospital. The hospital had been badly hit the night before: the Children鈥檚 Ward was destroyed and many children were killed. My ward had no windows; these had been blown out during the raid. Every night at about 9 pm the siren would sound as German plains flew overhead. The nursing staff were wonderful and all deserved medals.

After 3 months sick leave, I returned to Collaton Cross and later I was posted to a gun site at Down Thomas. The week prior to D-Day we were confined to camp with no mail allowed in to us, nor could we send any mail out. The water supply was turned off and the Army supplied us with water, which was brought in daily in the old milk churns. Every drop of water had to be boiled before we could use it for cooking etc. Unknown to us, the boats were being gotten ready, down below us, with provisions etc for the invasion. One night we had a near-miss when a bomb was aimed at our search light; fortunately it fell in a field just across from our camp. After D-Day, troops were moved overseas so the gun sites were no longer needed. This was at the end of the Battle of Britain. NAAFI male personnel were then sent overseas to cater for the troops so, as the gun sites closed down, us NAAFI girls had to move around too. Our next move was to Wemley Point, then Bovisand Fort at Wemley Point. At night, one could hear gunfights going on out to sea. At Bovisand Fort, one morning, we saw a U-boat being escorted in through the Sound. After a brief spell at Bovisand, it was over to Stadden Heights. We had our sleeping quarters at Hoe-Turnchapel and were taken up to Stadden Heights each morning in an Army truck. In winter, if roads were too icy we just had to walk up. In the evenings we were brought back by truck again. Here, for morning break i.e. cakes, tea-van etc., the canteen assistant took it out to the men on camp on a fire-engine.

My last move was to Topsham Barracks. This was a little more modern, and even had gas stoves to cook with instead of the usual coal-fired ovens, which at times could be very temperamental, and for which we often had to chop up the wooden cheese crates to get the cakes cooked in time for Morning Break.

Cooks wore white overalls and the canteen assistants wore blue, with khaki uniform for walking out in. It was a hard and austere life, but the camaraderie and thought for each other was something that kept everyone going in those situations. I still have my own personal album of my NAAFI days, with photographs and poems etc.

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