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This contribution to People’s War was received by the Action Desk at Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Radio Cleveland and submitted to the website by Jane Tombling, with the permission and on behalf of Doreen Webster (nee Davis).

When war was declared on Sunday, September 3rd 1939 I had just turned 14 years old. I lived in Grangetown which was in the North Riding of Yorkshire in those days and having won a scholarship at 11 (11+); I was sponsored to attend Middlesbrough High School for Girls, and was just about to begin my third year.

At the onset of war, Middlesbrough Council decided that schools in the centre of town must be evacuated to the country which included my school.

Everything happened very quickly and we were soon on a train to the lovely village of Pickering, at the reception centre we were allocated billets. My friend and I were sent to a lady in Eastgate, it was a very old cottage with no bathroom and an earth closet. We had a tiny room over an archway, which led to storage and stables, it was very basic but the lady was kind, so we were quite happy especially as it was a glorious autumn, with all the fruit, berries and conkers we could want.

We attended Lady Lumley’s Grammar School, half days only as we alternated with the Pickering pupils, so we had plenty of time for exploring.

During the winter months we experienced what snow in the country was really like sometimes knee deep, trudging to school. We also had thrilling times, whizzing down Beacon Hill, sitting behind the experienced Pickering boys on their sledges.

By the middle of 1940, a large number of pupils had returned home, most parents finding it difficult and costly to visit us, and there had been no air raids. I returned when school started again at home, only on a much smaller scale, staff being reduced, as some remained in the country.

No sooner were we home when the air raids began, we had large brick shelters in the school yard which we used regularly as air raids were a regular occurrence day and night. At home in Grangetown we had a very bad raid, which destroyed the house next door, we were in our Anderson shelter a few feet away and had to be moved out as there were unexploded bombs in our garden. After staying with relatives we eventually moved to Eston.

I sat my School Certificate exams under these conditions and left school in July 1941, getting good results in spite of everything. I went to work at Boots Chemists until I was 18 and able to volunteer for the WAAF. I began my basic training at Wilmslow Cheshire, 6 weeks hard labour to make air women from civilians.

We were given trade tests and because I had good Science results I was offered a Grade One Trade, which entailed a twelve months course to train as a Radar and Wireless Mechanic, along with Hazel my friend. Our first six months at Lewisham College was general electrical and radio theory and practice. We were based at RAF Kilbrooke and travelled to college by train. Unfortunately we hadn’t been there very long when the base became a victim of the first of many flying bomb attacks. We were all asleep at the time and had no idea what was happening. A lot of buildings were destroyed and a number of personnel were killed and injured.

We students were dispersed to civilian billets, my friend Hazel and I went to Eltham Well Hall a tram ride away from college, and was lucky to have a lovely landlady.

The sound of the Doodle bugs, as the flying bombs were called became part of our lives, but we froze when the engines would stop and pray it wasn’t our turn that day.

We also witnessed another part of history as we watched the endless columns of army vehicles, tanks, armoured cars and wagons full of American and Allied troops, moving along the road outside college on their journey to the South Coast as D-Day was approaching in 1944.

The RAF finally decided that we would have to leave London as the disruption was getting really bad, so we finished our first six months at Bolton College. Shortly after we left London the V2 rockets were being launched over London.

We passed our six month exams and we were allowed to decide which final course we wanted. I chose RADAR and Hazel went for Wireless, so we parted company.

I was posted to RAF Cosford near Wolverhampton. I really enjoyed the work, learning circuitry, fault finding, wiring complicated coaxial cables, and as girls were very much in the minority in this field we made sure we kept ahead.

On passing our final exams, we became Radar Mechanics (Airborne) with the sparks on our sleeves as proof.

My new friend Vicki and I were posted to RAF Ford, Sussex, which was mainly a Night Fighter Squadron, with Mosquitoes, Spitfires, Hurricanes, we checked daily the Radar equipment on board, replacing and repairing when necessary. It means a lot of climbing in and out of aircraft so we were glad of the good old battle dress, no smart skirts and jackets for us. Our section was mainly Royal Canadian Air Force, Officers and men, but we all got on very well.

After VE Day in 1945 our station was used by Dakota transport planes returning with hundreds of prisoners of war, some were badly injured all looked haggard and weary, but very happy to be home.

The fighter squadron was disbanded and our unit was transferred to RAF Tangmere near Chichester. During this time the Canadians were preparing to return home and after VJ in August there were lots of farewell parties. I also said goodbye to Vicki who had married one of our crew and was setting off for her new life in Canada; happily we still keep in touch today.

Towards the end of 1945, the squadron moved for the last time to RAF West Raynham in Norfolk, known as Central Fighter Establishment Headquarters, I believe it remained operational until 1975.

We were still maintaining aircraft radar, but we also were allowed to work on the latest American equipment on board Flying Fortresses and many different aircraft. We also examined captured German Radar brought over at the end of the war.

There were many changes coming at that time and before I left the service in 1947 I watched the first jet aircraft being put through their paces, in front of rows of top Military Brass.

I would not have missed my time in the WAAF, a time of comradeship, hard work but fun as well.

I could have stayed on and gone for a peacetime promotion, but I had met my husband-to-be at West Raynham, and he had already been demobbed having served in the RAF since 1941 in India. We had all our wedding plans to make for July 1948 and I wouldn’t have missed the 51 years we had together for anything.

NB In 2003 I was reunited with Hazel my friend from the start of our own WAAF training. I had not seen her since we parted company in 1945. I saw a photo and story in our local newspaper — Evening Gazette — of her and her family celebrating 50 years of their Gardening Nurseries in Ormesby. I wrote her a letter, then she telephoned me. We each thought the other had moved away. So after 60 years we had loads of catching up to do. We now meet regularly for outings and lunches. We even had our picture and story published in the Evening Gazette on November 11th 2003!

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