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North Foreland. I think this was the occasion when Topsy and I caught the last train down from London to Maidstone and arrived at The Court about midnight (having walked from the station). Daddy opened the front door in his pyjamas and dining gown and made us bacon and eggs at midnight. We caught the Foreland the next day.
On March 15th 1943 I was called to Bromley again in an interview for a Radar Commission – the first was in October 1942. Then Examining Board asked me if I was prepared to work at a C.H. Station. I said, “Yes” and chose Dunkirk a small village near Cantesbury.
On the 17th of the same month we were moved out of our rather luxiorious Art Deco home (double storey and well equipped) and the whole camp was moved to Broadstairs to be near the Ops Room.
The Air Force had commandeered a Children’s Home for us and there were laughs and guffaws at the tiny baths and toilets so close to the ground and no doors on the toilets. The bathrooms each held 2 baths so you endeavoured to bath with a friend. I often bathed with Yvonne.
It was sad to say goodbye to the house. I also left my large carpet there that a young Army officier sent me when he was posted to the Middle East. He knew a bit about Signals and one night we were dancing and he said, “dit dit – dit dah dit dit – dah dah dah – dit dit dit dah – dit – dah dit dah dah – dah dah dah – dit dit dah” (edit: “I love you”). “Oh no you don’t” I said with a cheeky grin.
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Poor Geoff – he was blown up by a mine soon after arriving in North Africa.
Our house at Foreland was on the road leading to the “Old Charles Inn”. It was named “Rushford” and when we lived there it was the only inhabited house in that area.All of seaside Foreland and Cliftonville were empty of people. There was barbed wire everywhere and there was only one way down to the beach and it was unknown to us. The Inn was pseudo – Tudor had a roaring fire – comfortable chairs and a comfy homely atmosphere. We would take our knitting up there and talk and sit in front of the fire.
I had only just settled in to the Childrens Home at Broadstairs then Topsy and I were seconded to Stanmore (the London Ops Room) for P.R. with our Central Control Room. We were allocated to a crew but every spare moment we took in a West End show. So for five days we were there we went to the Ballet – saw the new revue “Strike a New Note” and the Bernard Shaw play “Heartbreak House” at the Cambridge Theatre. It was all good fun. The last day of our “P.R.” (!!) we went to Maidstone for the night and then on to Foreland next day. Arend – the Dutch Naval officer who rowed across The Channel with another mate as 19 yrs old to join the Dutch Navy and Freddie – an Army officer
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were there for the weekend also.
I was only back at Broadstairs for a week when I was sent to Dunkirk (outside Cantesbury) for “Chain Home” experience. I loved my crew at Broadstairs:-
Topsy, Teddy, Don, Sheila Weeks, Ron, Yvonne Salmon, Jean, Cyril Griffiths.
Then there was Peg who was sweet on George, Pat Hayes, Johnny (Pinky) Enid, who later entered Parliament as a Liberal.
I was sad to be leaving them. When my mother heard I had gone to Dunkirk, she told all and sundry that I had started the Second Front in France – all very embarrassing. The Second Front was on everyone’s lips at the time. It must come soon! we all said.
Our Dutch Naval friend Arend had a vast number of young European friends and he used to bring them down to The Court for the weekend. Several times he brought Jean who used to parachute into France and return with secret information. Jean was not his real name. He could speak little English and was very thin.
About this time Steven told me what he had been working with at Medenham. It was the P.I. Group (Photographic Interpretation) Steven worked closely with
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Winston Churchill’s daughter Sarah. And it was probably Sarah along with Constance Babington-Smith who first noticed the buzz bomb sites and particularly the activity at Peenemunde.
The reconnaissance planes would bring back photos of Europe which would be examined and interpretted by
the P.I. Group. Steven’s team then reconstructed the photo into 3 dimensional models sometimes taking up entire rooms in the old country mansion the RAF were using at Medmenham (on the Thames just west of London) He had a lot to do with the pre-planning of the Dieppe Raid where friends of his were killed and later on the model of the Radar Station at Bruneval which British Commando’s attacked, captured and brought back in its entirety to U.K. for examination. It was interesting to know that our Turkey Mill “sparks” man not only had been involved with erecting a number of the tall C.H. aerials in the U.K. but was also involved with the dismantling of the Bruneval Radar equipment.
However, back to Dunkirk. The Ops Room was in a wood and well hidden. The aerials were further away on a hill on a hill. I was there
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for three weeks. I was in “C” Crew and met Sophie whom I liked alot and Lucy who was a
n ex-nun (very rare in those days) It was interesting working with C.H. equipment. It was the earliest Radar in U.K. and was very heavy and cumbersome. We sat at a console (one operator in charge of all the equipment) in front of a cathode ray tube (like a computer screen)
When we spotted aircraft we had to turn knobs etc until we zero-ed in on the plots. We would press 2 controls and on the overhead screen above our head a geographical plot occurred with a range (from the station) and estimated height. These facts were all worked out in the Calculator Room which was full of electronic equipment. When I think of hand calculators and even computers today, I recognise the enormous advances in this field.
I was also sent (with Topsy) to Dover C.H. on one occassion for “on hands” experience. There were no beds for us when we arrived and we both had to crawl into someone else’s empty bed. I had a cook’s bed which SMELT – I had to hold my nose but I was tired and I fell asleep only to be woken
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by a torrent of swearing and cursing when the cook arrived back from leave.
The Duty Officer was called and a grimy and sleepy pair of WAAF’s were given a fresh bed for the rest of the night.
While we were at Dover we took part in a simulated attack.
All Radar Stations had guns mainly Sten guns in the Ops Room also Lee Enfield Rifles. We used to be taken down to the beach once a month for firing practice. I could fire a Sten gun O.K. (it was automatic and light) but a Lee Enfield was HEAVY! and by the time I got the butt up and into my shoulder it could have gone off anywhere (not to speak of the fact I would probably have been killed long before!)
It was always the fear of the Air Force (Pre Second Front) that German parachutists could destroy our Radar Stations. Early in the Battle of Britain many of them were bombed and only the underground equipment enabled them to continue.
At Dover there was a large man-hole flat in the ground with a descending iron ladder much like a submarine. Once down there it was like an
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underground city.
Bedrooms, Ablutions Block, Kitchens, Dining Room, Ops room etc, etc.
We were down for 3 days and nights. Had good food. Bacon and egg every day, an unheard of luxury and just – US – The Crews – Day and Night got all mixed up together but we worked just as we would have done on the surface except NO SMOKING – a pain for some. But it was a strange experience to come out into the sunshine.
After the month of “Chain Home” experience, I went back to Foreland and took over “A” crew.
I went on leave in May and spent a day in London with Denniss – a Radar Mechanic. He was sweet over me – quite nice but like a soppy Samuel. He was kind and sensitive but I was waiting for my Lochinvar to ride out of the West and he hadn’t yet arrived on the scene. We had a lovely meal in Town and went to the Ballet. I took him home to Turkey for the weekend. My parents always liked to meet the guys I was going out with. Most they didn’t approve of and some of the one’s they liked I found a bit dull.
During that May leave I saw Noel Coward in “Present Laughter” at the West End Theatres
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also went to a National Gallery Concert with Steven (I think).
About this time I became very friendly with Elizabeth McCready. Her parents lived in a penthouse on the Top of Park Lane Hotel in the centre of West End.
We often used to go up to London on our days off and take in a show and come back next day.
I have no idea what Mr McCready did for a crust – but the penthouse was luxury – plus and he was obviously a wealthy man.
They often would be entertaining when we were there and it would be”Elizabeth, we are having a cocktail party tonight, you and Anne will help us entertain won’t you?” And of course we did and enjoyed it all hugely. Met lots of obviously interesting people, but I was having too much fun to remember who they were. I only remember having a long and hilarious conversation once with the Editor of The Times.
Liz and I used to go to the “Q” Theatre at the “New”. There always seemed to be a chauffeur to take us there and bring us back.
Yvonne and I were good friends too and we went to Whitstone CHL for a few days in August 1943 to help them out.
Yvonne had an elderly Jewish
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Aunt living by herself at Broadstairs. Aunt Helena was elderly, elegant and aristocratic. She was a Gluckstein of the Salmon and Glusterin family (Yvonne later married Neil Salmon whom she had been once suggested as a match for me.
I loved going to see Aunt Helena. We got on famously and enjoyed her lovely Russian Tea. Years later, Yvonne told me Aunt Helena said, “I like your English friend very much. Do bring her along anytime”. Yvonne told me that for Aunt Helena to say that it was a grand compliment.
By mid August 1943 I was back at Foreland to my old crew and was there until November until the RAF sent me once again to Stanmore (London ops) for P.R.
I took advantage of London and saw Kay Hammond in Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit” also went to the Ballet – the International Ballet at the Lyric Theatre – with Dennis wee Jones, was well and truly on ops at this time and flying Stirlings. He did an awful lot of his tour over Berlin.
A friend of my mothers, Mrs Baker, asked me if I would write to her son Tony, who was with the Tanks in North Africa. He was a Captain and strangely knew DavidEdmondson too.
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Always find letter writing easier than Joe, I used to dash off a letter here and there. We used to write on one piece of paper and it was photographed by the Post Office and as microfilm Air-mailed to the troops in action. We used to get letters back the same way.
Soon the letters from Tony became more frequent and then a jade ring arrived (which didn’t impress me) and I think I lost it soon after.
I had some good friends in the WRENS who worked with us at CHL Stations on the shipping. We had 2 sisters named ENSOR (Mary and Margaret). Their eldest sister was married to an Army officer who had been captured by the Japanese at Singapore. For 3 years she had no word from him at all. She didn’t know if he was dead or alive, but she kept praying and believing he was alive. She had a little boy Geoffrey who was a delight of younger Aunts and she would visit us and share Geoffrey with us. He was lovely! I believe Yvonne also had lost contact with a friend in similar circumstances but he did not return.
December 1943 saw me back with my crew at Foreland and on the 12th of that month I was called up to London and informed that RAF had decided not to continue commissioning WAAF’s at Radar
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officers (because later I realised UK was changing from defensive to offensive)
But, they said, we would like to offer you a commission in Signals. This would involve a years study at London University followed by 2 months OCTU Training.
I didn’t particularly want it,
But…….
I went home and talked it over with my father and he said to me, “Whenever a door opens up before you through no efforts you have done, you should always walk through”
So I did ……
And my life eventually took a dramatic turn which I never imagined.
And on January 2nd, I was informed that my time at a Radar Operator had come to an end and I was on my way to London.
I thought back on all the wonderful people I had met – the experiences I had had –
- The finding of the pilot off Dover
- The 3 days underground at Dover CH
- The monthly firing practice at Foreland
- the London shows
- The fun at RAF dances
- The travelling around England
- The experience on “G” Directional bombing at Trimingham
- The experience together with a grounded Fighter pilot on GCI (Ground Controlled Interception)
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at Foreland after we had vectored a fighter plane on to a bomber, he left his R/ton
“I’ve got the bugger. I’ve got the bugger. He’s bloody well all in flames”.
But …
Most of all the wonderful almost life-long friendships I made over those years. War is terrible. A lot of people – men and women – I knew were killed – but – somehow alongside all this there was a quality of life and living which was marvellous and experience. It was as if all the tatty pretend of life was peeled away and the real gold showed and we all had to mature and grow up fast.
Chain Home Low Station CHL
