A WAAF'S INVASION OF BLACKPOOL

We begin in South West Wales in Port Talbot the year is 1942 and the war is raging and life for Marjorie J Denman an 18 year is not so good because her mother died in 1938 and due to this she suffered depression then she was taken away from her home town of Llanelli by her father to the town of Port Talbot by her father this due to his uncle [who incidentally invented the railway station platform trolley] as he had some influence at the steel works and was able to get his nephew a good job in the steel works with a house for his nephew his lady friend and Joan. This lead Joan to consider her own life as with the war going on all around her with men and women in the town in uniform or doing things for the war effort all this inspired Joan to take her self away from the family security of her father and a roof over her head and out in to a world at war and off to join the ROYAL AIR FORCE and the unknown.

After joining up at the recruitment centre in the town Joan packs her bags and with her travel pass reported to her first posting at RAF “Insworth” in Gloucestershire where plain Joan is now a W.A.A.F Aircraft Craft Woman.1st class and duty title Aircraft Hand General Duties which was abbreviated to A.C.W.1st class and duty title A.H.G.D serial No 2037187 M J Denman. An 18year old recruit with natural blonde hair and a feeling of I is helping the war effort. After Joan’s training in the camp the day came for the passing out parade in front of all the top officers now out on the parade ground Joan and the rest of the recruits are marching in order when the sergeant barks out his order to halt! To which Joan did not hear and went on marching which put the rest of the girls in the front of the parade out of step then her cap which was to big fell over her eyes Joan thought oh dear that it I will be on a charge for this but as luck would have Joan and the rest of the passing out parade never got charged. After passing out from training at RAF Insworth Joan was sent to RAF. Saint Athens back in Wales. Having spent a few months at St Athens doing general duties Joan was posted to Blackpool to work and was stationed at Palatine road with a technical college across the road which had spare land to the rear which was built a Missen hut this with the college was used for training Army and RAF personnel. The billet or boarding house in Palatine road were Joan was billeted with about ten W.A.A.F’s and next door in the other boarding house were 10 soldiers and RAF men who were training to be photographers. One day when ACW Denman was on duty in the missen hut offices she was called by the duty sergeant to take a important message to the flight sergeant in the technical college it was to tell the flight sergeant to report to the Commanding Officer back at the mizzen hut office so ACWdenman did as she was told and made her way to the rear of the college and as she approached the main door she could hear a lot of water running and voices coming from the basement of the college and she thought it must be the enemy trying to drown the men , so she crept down the stairs and slowly opened the door and to her complete surprise it was not the enemy but a naked men standing in the showers and one telling his mate to rub a bar of coal tar soap hard on his back she stood in shock for a few moments staring at this naked man then quietly shut the door and ran up the stairs and burst out laughing to herself., she then remembered that important message for the flight sergeant but was still laughing about the man so she pulled her cap down to help cover her face and entered the college classroom with the message and quickly handed the message over and returned to the duty sergeants office in the missen hut looking red faced and flustered the duty sergeant notice and said has some one said something to you because you look embarrassed ACW Denman quickly made her excuse’s an left with the picture in her mind of the naked men in the showers believing them to be the enemy.

While stationed at Blackpool ACW Denman had a sister her name was Violet stationed in north Wales in the Army as an A.T.S Denman and as they both had leave due so “Vi “short for Violet got a travel pass and railway ticket to Blackpool to spend time with her sister Joan and the famous amusements of Blackpool. That evening that had change out of uniform and went to the Blackpool Pleasure beach fun fair, when they arrived there they decided to pay six old pence go in the fun house ride with the bendy mirrors and the cake walk which was situated high up at the front of the attraction now this consisted of two planks that moved up and down and you had to step on and walk across, so as they made their way across the catwalk they noticed at the ground facing the catwalk were wooden benches with service men sat looking up at the catwalk and when Joan and Vi reach near the end of the catwalk they saw a clown and at that moment he pressed a button and a gust of wind from a fan under the catwalk blew Joan’s andVi’s skirts up which caused Joan’s skirt to catch on her hat pin showing her WAAF regulation blue bloomers or knickers which was a huge embarrassment to her but a great laugh for all the service men on leave and a great help to the war effort.

After being stationed at Blackpool ACW Denman return to RAF Insworth lane and while stationed there she was asked by a friend a fellow WAAF to go out of camp to town so her friend said we will have to hitch a lift, so they started to thumb for a lift when a 60ft aircraft transporter with a section of aeroplane on it pulled up and stopped with two RAF men in the vehicle they said do you want a lift to which the WAAF’S replied we can’t get in there and with out a word said by the men the two WAAF’S were picked up and sat at the back of the 60ft transport . ACW Denman ‘s friend heard people look at that they got two WAFF’S guarding that aircraft as ACW Denman and her friend waved like royalty and laughing.
Another thing that happened to ACW Denman when on duty was they had a mock invasion at the camp so the WAAF’S had to stay in there quarters so stayed in bed when ACW Denman decided to go to the ablutions (toilet) so she put her dressing gown on and dashed to the toilet block, and when she was leaving she took two steps when an RAF airman who was camouflaged grab her threw her over his shoulder shouting I have caught the enemy and ran to the men’s billet with ACW Denman on his shoulder and her shouting put me down so she was put down and all the airmen had a laugh as she ran back to her billet hoping not to get caught again in the mock invasion .

The next adventure was Christmas morning and the WAAF’s were in bed again as they could not leave until 12 noon that day when all of a sudden the doors to their billet flew open and in burst a group of RAF men they said “AH HA we’ve got you “ and all the WAAF’S screamed and hid under their blankets and the men tried to tip them out of bed and the WAAF’S saying don’t touch me but and I quote ACW Denman “they kissed us so many times because they knew on xmas day they could not be charged “.

Another instance was when ACW Denman and fellow WAAF’s were out on the air field preparing for a mock Gas attack with a RAF sergeant in charge outside a air raid shelter. The WAAF’S had to put on their gas masks and then put on their heavy gas cape and when they done this the RAF sergeant said when I blow my whistle you must all get down into the air raid shelter as quick as you can, now the gas cape was to big and heavy for ACW Denman which made her fall down so many times she did not know where she was the sergeant said “ACW Denman WHERE ARE YOU!! “ To which she replied “ can’t move with this heavy cape on “ to which the sergeant pick her up put her on his shoulder and carried her into the air raid shelter to the amusement of all.

At the end of the war my mother was married to my father a soldier she met at Blackpool and she settled down in Bristol my fathers hometown and which is also my brother and sister and mine.

This is one of many story’s my mother repeats to us her children and grandchildren of good times in the second world war, but we do also remember her elder brothers who were in active service in the Army.
Uncle Douglas due to TB infection and associated illness he was sent to the North African desert to fight with General Montgomery’s forces as a desert rat and ending the war in Belson concentration camp with the allies burying the dead.
Next Uncle Raymond active service including being evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk and saving a friend from drowning when they were making their way from the beach to awaiting ship and once on board to find his friend killed by enemy fire and pronounced dead when lifted from the sea and on board the ship.
Next Uncle Ernie had an office-based job for the Army, arranging the distribution of missing in action notices sent to wives and sweethearts.
Next Uncle Howard due to a heart condition had to remain at home as a Home Guard (DAD’S ARMY).
Not forgetting our father who’s Army service as a engineer took him to Italy and around Europe were his kit bag with all his possessions and photo’s of his mum and dad were lost so we have never seen what our grandparents looked like as they died before we were born.

The people our relatives who return from and survived the second world war we thank them all for their huge sacrifice to keep the world free.

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