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A veteran interview with

Pam Torrens

Pam Torrens was a special duties linguist based at Abott’s Cliff and Ventnor. She also went onto Germany. The interview is full of detail and humour..

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About Pam Torrens

Pam Torrens was born in Southampton from a lineage of sailors and fishermen and so without question joined a sea faring service in the war.  She joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) aged eighteen and was made a chief petty officer after six months.

Pam describes her Wren training and the testing of her German language skills. Beginning at Mill Hill, and then transferring to a special unit called Southfields, she learnt how to use radio frequencies to detect E-Boats, and interpret the codes used by Germans. She was sent to Station X, unaware at the time that this was Bletchley Park. Here she listened to codes and would phone them through to the local naval intelligence centre. Later sent to work in intelligence centres herself, she describes the windy Abbots Cliff where she listened to messages about the Bismarck, learning morse code at Hemsby, and being stationed at Ventnor during D-Day. She later volunteered to go to Hamburg Germany to interpret captured documents for the navy.

Reflected throughout is Pam’s enjoyment of being in the Wrens, but also the tough circumstances and reality of not being able to divulge information about code breaking to her family after signing the Official Secrets Act. She remained hopeful her important work was impactful to the war effort.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
Reviewed by:
Vicky Barnes

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Home | Veterans | Pam Torrens

A veteran interview with

Pam Torrens

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Pam Torrens was a special duties linguist based at Abott’s Cliff and Ventnor. She also went onto Germany. The interview is full of detail and humour..

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Torrens, Pam. A Veteran Interview with Pam Torrens. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/pam-torrens/. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
APA Style:
Torrens, P. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Pam Torrens [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved April 20, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/pam-torrens/
Chicago Style:
Torrens, Pam. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Pam Torrens. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee. Accessed April 20, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/pam-torrens/
Harvard Style:
Torrens, P. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Pam Torrens. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/pam-torrens/ (Accessed: 20 April 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Torrens, P. A Veteran Interview with Pam Torrens [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2025 Apr 20]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/pam-torrens/
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