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We did not have a glamorous job during the war — the living conditions were very primitive and the work was hard — we even had to polish our floors with horrible-smelling diesel from the generator in order to keep them clean. Yet there was a softer side to it. In 1944 one summer’s night I was in charge of manning the lamp (searchlight). It was a nice night, quite quiet, and we were waiting to be stood down. We were always very conscious of the sky due to the nature of our job, and as we were standing around idling the time away we looked up at the stars. There was the beautiful song of the nightingales and it all felt quite romantic. Some of the other girls were chatting and singing quietly and I started to think about a boyfriend. I sang ‘journey of a star’ and thought of him. For that moment all was calm and peaceful, and it was such a change from being shut away in the plotting hut. But it was soon over and we went back to bed. I have never forgotten it.

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