Bella Bailey reflects on her fascinating journey with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) which changed her life forever. Struggling to find a purpose in post war Britain, Bella decided to join the RAF after discovering a notice for female recruits. Against her mother's wishes, she left home to train at a camp in Winslow. Showing a keen interest for puzzles, she later landed a job as a code messenger at Bletchley park which she thoroughly enjoyed, adapting quickly to the strict accuracy which the role required. Eventually she was posted to a camp in Lubeck, Germany which excited her adventurous spirit. She recalls the train ride through Germany, seeing the devastation caused by the bombings. During the Berlin Airlift, she continued to use a telex machine to send coded messages for important tasks such as reporting what food supplies the planes were transporting from one place to another. Outside of work, she explored Lubeck, learning to relax and have fun with her two friends May and Marj. Despite the tenseness of the atmosphere, the locals were friendly and the soldiers remained civil which made the environment feel safe and comfortable for them. She recalls one mischievous act in which she convinced a pilot to take her to Berlin which could only be done during her twenty four hour shift. Before they could lift off, the corporal caught her and sent her to cookhouse duties for a week. At the time of this interview, Bella has still not visited Berlin. The experience she gained left a profound impact on her life and would benefit her later when given the opportunity to work for the government in the diplomatic wire service. Bella's interview shows the life of a woman who understood discipline, harnessing it effortlessly into their skillset without obstructing her sense of fun and adventure.        

Albert Kingham shares his memories of being evacuated from Southend to Nottinghamshire at the age of eight. Albert dreamed of becoming a pilot and witnessed the first dogfight over Southend in 1939. During his four years in Nottinghamshire, he witnessed the bombing of Sheffield and collected shrapnel from crashed planes. At 14, his passion led him to join the Air Training Corps (ATC), where he received training, including parachute exercises, and flew in various aircraft. Albert recalls a memorable flight with a photographer over Germany in 1947, where he witnessed the devastating aftermath of the war in cities like Cologne. In 1948, Albert was stationed at Oakington during the Berlin Airlift, he recounts flying in Dakotas to and from Berlin. After leaving the ATC in 1951, he began a career as a naval tailor, helping produce battledress uniforms, including those worn during the Korean War. Albert’s story is one of bravery, resilience and a love for planes.

Gordon was evacuated at the start of WW2 but was back home in time to witness German bombing of his town. He joined the ATC as a teenager and was pleased when conscripted into the RAF at Christmas 1946, just after turning eighteen. During training he specialised as an airframe engineer in Transport Command. He focussed on working on the Avro York, a transport derivation of the Lancaster bomber. His first overseas posting was Gibraltar, then back to Britain for a short while before being given two hours’ notice that he was assigned to the RAF base at Wunstorf in Germany at the start of the Berlin airlift. The effort to keep Berlin supplied was unrelenting and during one period Gordon was on duty every day for ten weeks, with some aircraft flying three sorties a day. In his opinion only a young person could maintain a schedule like that. On leave they travelled to nearby towns, although fraternisation with the Germans was discouraged, along with warnings regarding the hazards of venereal infection. A fatal crash at the base of one of ‘his’ aircraft affected him, and he also flew in an aircraft that had engine failure. He feels that the Berlin airlift was a good thing and that his service helped him in later life.