14 Young Ladies at War: England, World War Two

I talked to them one by one: Alma was from Ireland, and had a thick Irish accent. She had bright red hair hidden under her pert blue hat.

Barthelma was tall and from Southhampton, where I had previously served; so we talked of Netley Hospital. Her sister had been a nurse there when it was English; we taking it over for the Navy during the Invasion.

Coco was French and seriously religious…she was looking forward to becoming a full nun and was studying medicine at Guys Hospital in London.

Danielle was also French. Her Father was the liaison with General De Gaulle, and I had seen him in the Embassy.

Eunice was black and was the daughter of the Ambassador from Liberia. She was the smartest of the bunch and the ‘richest’ of the girls.

Feodora was pert, blonde, and wanted to ‘get out’ of the Church and become an actress. The other girls listened to her but were troubled by her feelings.

Gladys was also Scots and the leader of the pack…she asked us after our ‘tea’ to thank God for the wonderful time we were having while death fell over London outside, and our military were half-way to Berlin but dying in doing it. Gladys explained the need for money (pounds) to buy the milk for the babies. The girls’ had been upset by using my cream from the officer’s mess.

I went in Clarkes room and took ten pounds ($48 then!) from his ‘cache” and took the same from Larry’s dresser drawer. I added twenty pounds to that from my savings and gave the money to Gladys.

They were all happy and very nervous about the ‘large amount of money’. But finally they took it, and gave me a hug and a peck on the cheek as each filed out the door and back to the Church. Beautiful and wonderful eighteen years old women, and just as determined in their work as my adventuresome other seven had been some weeks ago.

Both sets of persons exemplified the courage and determinantion that won that war.

There’ll always be an England as long as it has females like these fourteen.

But my immediate worry then was explaining Clarke’s and Donovan’s money I had given away!