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Hilda Walsham at Summerlands Nursing Home in Westgate on Sea told her story on 7 July 2005 to Wyn Briggs of UK-online.

I lived in Margate during the war. The Royal Navy were doing sorties out in the North Sea and the gun boats and launches were moored in Ramsgate harbour. The crews used to have parties aboard ship from time to time but, although my father had banned me from attending, I still used to go! As there weren鈥檛 a lot of 16/17/18 year old girls around we had a clear field. I went with a couple of girlfriends and the police were very strict when we had to show our identity cards and they would say 鈥渨hat are you doing here my girl, you shouldn鈥檛 be down there鈥�.

Everybody had drinks and was laughing and enjoying themselves when suddenly came the order to scramble and we had to get out quickly because the boat was off on a sortie to find German ships in the English Channel. We had to get up this rope ladder with a couple of the crew behind us and our high heel shoes on. We had a lucky escape because a few minutes later we would have been marooned on board and off to the North Sea! When I got home and went to bed, I found I could not sleep just thinking about the evening and the possible consequences. The male members of my family were all in the Navy and if I had told them they would have given me 鈥渨hat for!鈥�

I was at home with my mother in Margate during the war. My younger brother had been evacuated to Staffordshire. It was quite a dangerous place to be and I remember a plane machine gunning down the street in the Cecil Square area of Margate.

I was working at the Post Office in Margate as a telephonist when they used a manual exchange. After I got married I stayed on at the Post Office and moved to London. After the war I was based in the International Exchange in the City as an instructor for the new girls and boys. It was a very interesting job and we also had lots of fun.

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