A box of letters, 100 in total, have been stored in my loft for 40 years, & previously at the home of my grandmother in Co. Durham. I found them last year & have transcribed all of them. The letters were written by my mother, Mary Wade, to her family at home, from February 1942 to December 1945 while she was serving in the ATS on the searchlight at Cuffley in Hertfordshire.
The letters tell the story from her 1st day, her introduction to life in the womens army, her training as a driver/mechanic, & then training & working as a searchlight operator. After V.E. Day she was posted to Scotland to take on convoy work until she was demobbed in December 1945.
Each letter tells a story eg. bombs dropping very close to their site, the effects this had on them, their daily routines, what they had for dinner, what they did on leave and funny little incidents which brought happiness to their lives amid all the terror.
