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The Airforce 1941-1945
My number was 2026333 and I joined up on November 11th 1941.
2026333 Anne Apsley Brooke Wright
I was sent to Bridgnorth in Western England and received probationary training there. I was in Hut 3 Squad 3. Pam did not come with me. She was on another draft and we lost company
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on November 25th – 28th I was given my first Air Force job. I was given overalls and industrial gloves. I had to pick up the smelly tins discarded by the kitchen, fill a metal “V” shaped trough with them end to end and when it was full. I had to pull a lever and the two ends came toward the centre and compacted the tins into a neat square. I then had to pick up the compressed tins and stack them. What a job! I received 10/- per week for this work.
On November 28th I was posted to Yatesbury – The Signals Centre and travelled via Bath.
Photobook – Yatesbury
PhotoBook – Yatesbury
Fighter Direction Aerial Radar
Ground Controlled Interception – Radar Station
The reason for the change was that after joining the Air Force the prospect of quickly becoming an officer lost its appeal and I became very interested in joining a section (Radar) which at the time was Top-Secret.
My technical training lasted from November 29th through to January 1st. We were trained in the theory of Radar and the mechanics of the operation. It was very interesting. It was stressed to us that it was Top Secret and we were not to talk of being Radar Operators but rather Wireless Operators.
On January 1st 1942 I was posted to Pevensey on the Sussex coast.
PhotoBook – Pevensey
PhotoBook – Pevensey
The Rookery
Pevensey was one of the first “Chain Home” of C.H Radar stations built before the war. It operated on a medium to low frequency and its calibrated 20 res of
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transmission and reception looked a bit like a hand with fingers extend and viewed sideways. Dover, Rye (on the Isle of Wight) Dunkirk (near Canterbury) Canewdon, Ventnor on the Isle of Wight were built at the same time and each station had to be calibrated individually. An aircraft would fly from the station out and back continuously and when it faded and disappeared that was the edge of the station’s operating “lobes”.
I was billeted at a pre-war Road House (or modern motel) called “The Monkey House” at Herstmonceux and worked the afternoons and evenings shifts alternately whilst learning to use the equipment. Each morning we had lectures.
The Monkey Puzzle Road House, Herstmonceaux
Grand Hotel & Western Lawns, Eastbourne
Carpet Gardens, Eastbourne
Pevensey was right next door to Eastbourne and if we got some free time we used to go into that sea-side holiday town. Uncle Cecil and Auntie Ethel Norman lived nearby (my father’s sister and her husband). He was a retired architect and had specialised on restoring old buildings. Pre-war he had restored Pevensley Castle and he showed me around the castle and on the “gargoyles” on the battlements alongside all the old ancient faces was the image of Uncle Cecil as a tribute to his work in the restoration!!
After a fortnight’s training at Pevensey I was sent to Liverpool on January 16th 1942.
PhotoBook – Liverpool
PhotoBook – Liverpool
Mersey Tunnel
Liver, Cunard and Dock Offices
St. John’s Gardens, Liverpool
William Brown St, Liverpool
Kingsway, Liverpool
Mersey Tunnel, Liverpool
William Brown St, Liverpool
Water Street, Liverpool
River Mersey
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There were 7 of us in the group and when we arrived no-one knew of our coming. There was nowhere to sleep and there was a war on and we had precious little money between us.
We had to go to the City “Doss House” for the down and outs. The beds were not double decker but triple decker and it was in a disused cinema in Liverpool. We were each given a smelly old blanket. None of us got undressed and we had a very restless night. In the morning we took stock of our position and our money. We pooled our money such as it was, I think I had 10/- and we booked into the Y.W.C.A. for the next night. We all had a shower. Looked for a place we could have a cheap meal (one for the da) and then went up to the camp and complained of our situation. They told us to come back next day. So we slept in Y.W.C.A. for 2/- each and had another cheap meal next day and by this time we were nearly broke but on the 18th they “discovered” us and we went sent to the New Radar station being opened up at Holyhead. Holyhead overlooked the Irish sea and our area of search covered any aircraft approaching Liverpool from the west – also shipping.
PhotoBook
PPI tube and Height Range tube
WAAF in Radar Operations room
Radar WAAF Operator
