PerArduaAdAstra
Airman
- 13
- Jan 28, 2010
I just read the post from Lemming about his moms work in aircraft manufacturing in the war and thought I would share a story about my old mum. I'm originally from the UK (London) and my parents (and grandparents) both went through WW2 living through, among other things, the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.
They never talked about it too much, but my mom grew up in Epping in Essex, which for those of you that have never heard of it (not too surprising) is very close to North Weald airfield. She told me about the early days of the BoB when the Luftwaffe were concentrating on the airfields how she and her friends would sit out in the back garden watching the dogfights take place in the skies over her home. I think that maybe first sparked my interest in WW2 aircraft and the RAF's role in the war.
Later in the war she worked at Bletchley Park home of the top-secret Ultra program decoding German high command messages. Although she never worked in the Ultra program, because of the location she was in, she was one of the first people to hear that the Germans had officially surrendered unconditionally ending the war in Europe. Right up until the time she passed away, the work she did was still covered by the official secrets act and she refused to tell us what it involved in case someone from the government came and arrested her!
They never talked about it too much, but my mom grew up in Epping in Essex, which for those of you that have never heard of it (not too surprising) is very close to North Weald airfield. She told me about the early days of the BoB when the Luftwaffe were concentrating on the airfields how she and her friends would sit out in the back garden watching the dogfights take place in the skies over her home. I think that maybe first sparked my interest in WW2 aircraft and the RAF's role in the war.
Later in the war she worked at Bletchley Park home of the top-secret Ultra program decoding German high command messages. Although she never worked in the Ultra program, because of the location she was in, she was one of the first people to hear that the Germans had officially surrendered unconditionally ending the war in Europe. Right up until the time she passed away, the work she did was still covered by the official secrets act and she refused to tell us what it involved in case someone from the government came and arrested her!
Great stories, Per!
