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about in ditches and under
hedges with a rifle", so she became a driver, hoping
that this might be a short cut to a front seat in an armoured
car or a tank. This has not materialised, but she has been
on rather realistic exercises - the next best thing. Here
I quote her (her first thrill came when she was detailed
to drive an Umpire's car on one of the Sunday Exercises):
"If I hadn't known it was an exercise,"
she says, "I should have had the wind-up - for at one
point, whilst waiting for my C.O. (who was acting as Umpire),
I discovered several black-faced, murderous looking H.Gs.
armed with Stens and hand-grenades, crawling around and
under the car with the obvious intention of putting out
of action a Spigot Mortar on a street corner some fifty
yards away. The battle raged fast and furious for some minutes
with hand-grenades bursting and rifles cracking all round
me until, eventually, one side won the day. I was glad I
was not an Umpire having to decide which side had won. All
I know was that I was sorely tempted to get under the car
until it was all over."
It was Dorothy Cope who, at the aforementioned
luncheon, described our Sergt.-Major, Mac as "doing
rough things in a nice way", a remark which caused
a lot of amusement. Her big trouble is that she knocks her
cap off when she salutes.
Doris Arblaster is the genial, smiling wife
of a Sergeant in the Rushall Coy. Keen and industrious,
she was one of the original volunteers. Her wish was to
train and work with the Rushall H.G. Evelyn Jackson,
also one of the originals, is pretty and blonde and, as
far as I know, is the only one who has found a spot of romance
to leaven up the job. She is a competent phonogram operator,
and was one of the four chosen to represent the women in
the test I have spoken of. Olive Hingley, her "buddy",
is a brunette, rather serious, with little to say, but with
her heart in her job and she does it well. They are both
of Aldridge. Margaret Hackett, slim and alert, who has a
family tradition of service as one of her reasons for joining.
She, too, has done excellent work, and was one of the picked
"four". She comes from Rushall. Janet Wright hails
from Great Barr; one of our stalwarts. She has seldom missed
a parade since she joined us, although it has often meant
a long and dark cycle ride in the winter. A jolly good sort.
Jean Robinson, who came to us from Weston-super-Mare where
she had joined, also has a father in Signals. A popular
youngster with us all; home - Streetly. Ann Hough is another
of the Aldridge girls. Brunette, rather serious, but with
a keen sense of humour and a charming smile. She is clever
and has acquitted herself well. Gertrude and Doris Shaw,
sisters, the representatives of Walsall Wood. Ash-blonde
and very "alive" they were a welcome addition
to our ranks, and joining later than some, they soon made
up for lost time. Dorothy Godfrey, a pleasant young brunette
from Pelsall, doing well on the job, had to leave us when
the call came to the Women's Land Army. Eileen Jones is
our "baby", a product of the Guides, whose (......continues.....)
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