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A veteran interview with

Doreen Galvin

Doreen Galvin lives in Canada but returned to England briefly in 2015. During the war she worked at RAF Tempsford from June 1943 to October 1944.

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About Doreen Galvin

Doreen Galvin describes that as a young woman she was passionate about maps and photography, thus knew when the war broke out that she must apply for intelligence work – not admin. After being firstly involved in photo interpretation, Doreen was then moved to Bomber Command and finally sent to be an Operations Officer at Tempsford RAF base.

Doreen recalls how on arriving at Tempsford she was immediately thrown into work and quickly taken to the map room. She remembers that upon looking at the wall of maps, she realised that she was standing face-to-face with all the locations of the clandestine operations by the RAF during the war. In this role she was responsible for receiving, processing and reporting these locations and objectives to the War Cabinet.

In this interview Doreen fondly recalls her contribution to the war, reflecting upon the excitement of working with maps and photo interpretation during the war. Doreen gives an interesting account of the war effort from a different perspective than that of the front line soldier, by both originating from a female viewpoint and also the clandestine operations which were happening back in England.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martyn Cox
Reviewed by:
Evie Painter

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Home | Veterans | Doreen Galvin

A veteran interview with

Doreen Galvin

Doreen-Galvin-Still

Doreen Galvin lives in Canada but returned to England briefly in 2015. During the war she worked at RAF Tempsford from June 1943 to October 1944.

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Galvin, Doreen. A Veteran Interview with Doreen Galvin. Interview by Martyn Cox. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/doreen-galvin/. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
APA Style:
Galvin, D. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Doreen Galvin [Interview by Martyn Cox]. Legasee. Retrieved May 25, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/doreen-galvin/
Chicago Style:
Galvin, Doreen. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Doreen Galvin. Interview by Martyn Cox. Legasee. Accessed May 25, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/doreen-galvin/
Harvard Style:
Galvin, D. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Doreen Galvin. [Interviewed by Martyn Cox]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/doreen-galvin/ (Accessed: 25 May 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Galvin, D. A Veteran Interview with Doreen Galvin [Internet]. Interview by M. Cox. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2025 May 25]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/doreen-galvin/
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