大象传媒

In 1940 when I was 20 years old I joined the WAAF. I had to go to Victoria House in London, if I passed the medical I was in, otherwise it was 鈥済o back home鈥�.

I was taken with 14 other girls on a train, destination unknown, but I so wanted to get some distance away to experience life further afield. We changed trains and went on and were met at the final station by a large RAF lorry. We all had to climb in the back, 7 miles of winding country roads, before we were turfed out and, imagine my disappointment, when told we were at RAF Stradishall in Suffolk. It was a bitter blow, but it turned out to be a very happy posting for me. My past six years training as a cook stood me in good stead and I was put to work in the Officers Mess. There I cooked for the Queen Mother and her husband, The Duke of Kent, the week before he was killed, and the Duchess of Gloucester among many others. The Duchess was head of the WAAF. We managed to get some very nice flowers to put in the Dining Hall and the first thing she said as she entered was 鈥渨hat beautiful flowers鈥�, so we were pleased about that.

After six months my Officer, Mr Hill, asked me if I would like to do the catering and I went to Melksham in Wiltshire on a course where I got my Corporal stripes. A year later I went back on a higher course and was a Sergeant. I was given my own office in GHQ and two staff. I made out the menus and ordered the food. This was for a great number of RAF staff as Stradishall had several satellites which we provided with food also. I had to keep accounts on form 848, take it to the account officer every week and if I was more than 6d out we had to go through it all. I still have my course book signed by all the other WAAF on it. I was allowed 1/4d for women and 1/6d for men per day. I had allowance for the rations the bomber crews took on ops and various other allowances plus 1d for each doper for a mug of cocoa and a slice of bread and jam. A doper was a man who came to scrape the grease off from around the drains and it was used for soap and candles.

On my return from Melksham I was asked to bring back to Stradishall ten young girls, conscripts who had never left home before. I had their travel warrants and particulars so imagine my horror when at Liverpool Street station we had to run over the bridge to catch our train that was about to leave and half the girls got on and the other half got left behind. I think it was Marks Tey where we had to change trains so I went with my tale to the Station Master and he said no more trains from London that night. When I got to Haverhill my name was called and I was told my charges had been put on a train coming Cambridge way. It was very late when it finally arrived and it came in on the platform over the bridge, I could see the girls in there but they didn鈥檛 attempt to alight and as the guard blew his whistle I flew across the bridge shouting at him. He blew his whistle again and to my relief the train stopped and he was very cross as the girls tumbled out and he threw their kit bags out after them. It was midnight when we got back to camp and I had to traipse around to find empty beds for them, what a day, it鈥檚 imprinted in my memory.

Besides my day job, I ran the sport on the camp, and also the savings scheme. Also when the crews came back from operations when the first plane was sighted I was called day or night and either made them hot drinks or gave them something stronger before they went in to be interrogated.

In 1942, I took twelve WAAF to RAF Newmarket on the racecourse. The men were billeted in the Grand Stand and the cook house was in there, all the main offices and conference rooms 鈥� where to put the women? The WO in charge didn鈥檛 want women on his domain and made life very difficult for me. In the end we were given a Nissan hut but no toilets so, he said to me, 鈥渨hat are you going to do 鈥� have a pot parade every morning?鈥� We got two elsan toilets in the end. I stayed there four months 鈥榯il the girls were settled and then I went back to Stradishall.

As the number of WAAF increased at Stradishall so more were promoted. When it got to six Sergeants we were given our own mess which was a very nice house which had been a married officers home. I supplied the food and we gave party invites to Officers as well. I still have my menu that we all signed. We were given a cook and a housemaid to take care of us.

A crew we had all given up hope of seeing again, having been lost on a raid, turned up in seaman鈥檚 waders, and thick sweaters they had picked up at sea. What a cheer went up when they walked in.

Another time a German plane came down near the camp. The two officers under guard ate with our officers in the mess and the rest of the crew were in the guardroom and used to wave to us as we went on and off camp. They had to guard the plane in the end as so many people were taking bits off for souvenirs. I remember one of our planes catching fire on the way home and the crew put out the flames with drinks from their flasks. I remember having my very first Pimms when invited to a celebrity drink with them. I was very privileged to know many brave men. I have my two wartime medals; one has an oak leaf on as I was mentioned in dispatches in 1943.

SYLVIA G MOORE

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