Wings Over Wick
1939 - 1945
Women At War

Mrs C F Elkington, Braintree, Essex
In November 1942 I was posted to RAF Station Wick as it was supposed to be quite near my home in Stratherrick, Inverness-shire.  However, because of the lack of bus services it meant I had to spend the night in Inverness and did not arrive home until the next day. Other personnel going to England reached their homes before I did. Once I managed to get a pass to ride in the fast troop train called "The Jellicoe" which left Wick quite early in the morning and so was able to get home the same day.

I was billeted in what was called 'married quarters' and can still remember how cold it was. As there was a shortage of fuel then, there never seemed to be enough coal for the fire downstairs which heated the water. Many times we had to wash in cold water. We used to put our great coats over the bed at night to try to keep warm. However, we had some happy times as well.

One day when the weather was fine, my friend Barbara and I hired bikes in Wick for the day and we cycled to John O'Groats and back. It seemed a long way but we still managed to enjoy a dance on camp in the evening. On another occasion my friend Eleanor made friends with a lady from Wick as they travelled back on the train. This lady was a retired infant teacher from the local school and lived in a terraced house not far from the school. She invited Eleanor and her friends (me) to tea the following week and subsequently we went there many times. We used to listen to her records on her gramophone - especially one called "In A Monastery Garden".  It made a lovely change for us and we used to enjoy going there. We puzzled our brains wondering how we could say "Thank You" and decided to save some of our rations from the Mess. So one week we proudly presented her with a cup of jam, half a cup of sugar and a little pat of butter. She thanked us very gravely but when we left, insisted we returned the food to camp. I'm sorry I cannot now recall the lady's name but certainly remember her kindness to us.