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Ivy Barker

In 1939 and early 40s, I was in St John’s Ambulance Brigade and was a volunteer nurse at the FAP at Epsom District Hospital.
I can remember one night when the Alms Houses in East Street were bombed and the elderly ladies were bought in — I cried a lot when I saw them. A lot of them were more concerned with their pets, their false teeth and their corsets!

I married in 1941 and learning that married women without children were to be called up to work in factories, I went to London and joined the Women’s Auxiliary Airforce.

Training started at Innsworth in Gloucester and at the end of six weeks, we had to choose a trade. I became a Pay Accounts clerk at our accounts school.
One day as I was going back to my billet I saw a notice “Oranges for schoolchildren”, so tongue in cheek, asked if I qualified — and was given one!
I can remember one pay parade — held in a hangar — when someone started up a four-engined bomber, and all the £1 and 10s notes went up in the air from the table where we were sitting. At the end of the parade we still had to balance and tell the Sqn Ldr how much money he should have from the original total!!!

At another RAF station, I had the misfortune to see one of our bombers crash on “take off”, all the crew being killed.
Another time I saw a German fighter loosing off all his ammunition before making a false landing — most of it going through Headquarter’s roof.
I also remember a “Gong” medal parade rehearsal — when I cam to attentionso well that my heels slipped and I landed on my bottom — good job it wasn’t in front of General Sikorsky.

I can also recall being invited with other WAAFs to a Sergeants’ Mess party. During the evening the Commanding Officer arrived and was greeted by a tall pilot who tripped and spilt pale pink blancmange all down the CO’s best blues!!

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