MY TEENAGE CONTRIBUTION

I was 15 years old and my brother Edwin 6 years old when War broke out in 1939. We were both at school and evacuated with his school on 31 August 1939 (my Dad's birthday) to Eastbourne from Battersea, London. War was declared on 3 September that year. My Dad was Stephen Charles Upton and he worked for the Post Office on the telephone service. My Mum Mary Upton ran a grocery shop from our home too. Nothing seemed to be happening at that period so returned to London at Christmas. My school, Battersea Central, had temporary classes. I travelled to Petersfield to rejoin my school and finish my education.

I left school and started work in May 1940, having reached 16. I commenced work at the Church of England Building Society near Ludgate Circs, near to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. Eventually raids started and with the bombings, many times journeys to and from work were disrupted due to bomb damage on buildings, roads and transport. Sometimes I had to walk to work, on one occasion I had a lift on a dustcart.

In 1942 I was called up and joined the Air Ministry Communications Section (AMCS) Combined Operations in Whitehall. I worked split shifts - early or late or all nights. I was part of the typing pool at first - then into the Top Secret Section where one typist, one checker, one collator and despatcher were the staff per shift. The typist had to use the duplication machine and used skins and spare copies were destroyed. Most material was in coded messages. All Services and movements were involved. At one time a bomb exploded in the street near the entrance, which meant a roundabout journey to get out of the building.

There was no real time to have any social life, although occasionally when I finished a batch of night work I used to travel by train to Wraysbury near to Windsor and slept on a lounger in my Grandma's garden to get some fresh air. Must admit I had a fright one day as I was on the train going past the area now known as London Heathrow Airport, when a raid alarm was sounded and I witnessed a dogfight between British and German planes.

I sent messages concerning the evacuation of forces from France and later the landings in Sicily to Italy and the Dunkirk landings. I also sent the news of the End of the War in Europe; followed a few months later by the news of the End of the War in Japan. After a while we were transferred to Australia House to continue working for the Air Ministry.

I left the Service in 1947 after I had married Walter Charles Jones on 5 April 1947. My husband had served in North Africa, then the landings in Sicily, then on through Italy, including Rome and eventually back after the war in Europe.

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