Enlistment and war's outbreak
I can remember that quite well, because I was on the jetty at Manly with friends. It was early in the evening, and we were ... Usually after a boat ride, so I used to be a keen sailor. I loved the water. I'm a Cancarian and so you can imagine I loved the water.
We were out there usually, and after we came in from sailing, we'd go out to the jetty, and we'd have just a few eats, and then we'd take off home. It was there that we heard the war had broken out. There was silence everywhere. We were wondering what was going to happen, what was ahead of us. That was the worst part because we had never been actually involved in any wars.
I joined the services. I was with a group of about 14. We were the first lot to join in Queensland. I joined the navy mainly because, as I say, I was a keen sailor. I was always on the water, and then I started to develop a friendship with this chap, my husband Colin. When he joined up, he joined up in the navy, and that's where the romance started.
The uniform
Well, they wondered why, there were three of them with us few girls, what they were going to do with us. So, my girlfriend Audrey and I were the ones to be chosen to go up to headquarters in Brisbane, Queens Street. An officer there was Captain Thomas, and then I wondered what they'd do with us.
First of all I said, "Oh well, looks likely we're to put them onto make us a cup of tea or something,"
So it was funny to go in wondering what these men had these women, and they didn't know what to do with us. Anyhow, we realized they put us in to what they call the signals department, and from there ... I won't go a little on with it there, but from there this is where it started, we got into the signals department, and later on I was sent up to where the AMP building in Brisbane, Queensland, and this is where we started to learn some of the coding work, and we had to work with the Americans, and my girlfriend Audrey and I, we were put in what they called a special unit and it was very hush-hush at the time. It was a special room up in the AMP building in Brisbane, and there was only about three or four of us there, and we were put into ...
If there was anything, I think there was a first bomb dropped in Townsville, was a surveillance one with the Japanese, and I can remember being there on the watch at night, and when that happened, no matter where we were the girls to the left of us they were always civilians, but when there was anything going on like that they had to be taken over by the staff ... I was on the one night at Townsville, and that was of an urgency. Fortunately, it was sound, but it caused a bit of reaction at the time. All communications we had to go down as telegraphists and disconnect everything, and that was quite exciting at the time.
Well, we were six nights before they got us in a uniform. They were in khaki for the daytime. The troop was in a simple dress, brown hat, brown shoes, brown stockings. But for winter, for dress occasionally, we had a rather attractive black suit or navy suit with double-breast and slacks, and also skirt. We had the shoes to match and of course the damn stockings too. But it was quite a smart outfit for the girls. As I said, it was six months with just the white band on my sleeve with WRANS on it.
The Special Coding Outfit
For six months we didn't have a uniform or anything to put on, and I, being sick at that time, had the privilege that I went home and stayed at home. I didn't have to go to Moreton and sleep there, so I missed out on a lot of the frivolities and now I think at the time...
We worked from the Queen Street down the bottom of Creek Street somewhere was captain's office.
So Audrey and I, my girlfriend and I, that's where we were held for the time. And then we worked between there and the AMP buildings which was the section of the Americans' part of it. And that's where we started to get into the special coding outfit which was quite interesting at the time.
Threat of Japanese invasion
I've faintly got some recollection that the Japanese was starting to come down and I know my husband, he was on the Shropshire at the time. And I knew he was up further where the Japanese were. And they started to come down and come closer towards the coast, and this is where the exciting part was, the Americans came to our aid and we were lucky because the Japanese were coming down so far and in the department where I was I heard in the secretive path we were only going to hold out to Townsville and we were going to let the Japanese have down as far Townsville and then we'd start to protect the rest of the country.
And that was a part really that was a bit scary at the time and it was worrying. We wanted to know what was going to happen. And about every three weeks, I'd hear from the secretive path where we used to go at night which was this coding. We used to have to go and have a look in the big planted room where the map was. Of course, they used to say to me, "That's where your husband is."
When I'd go up to Laurie and them, they used to tell me where he was, so it was always a bit worrying, especially when we knew the Japanese were coming down fairly close. I suppose that's the part that worried me more than anything. I suppose when you look through it and that, there was some more horrible things I forgot about the bomb dropping and all of that.
I don't know as I say, I suppose with the work we were doing we were segregated away from a lot of people and when we did go home, being living at home and having to travel up and down, I was always so darn tired. I was glad to just go down home and sleep. And what we were doing, was all hush-hush.
American/Australian rivalry
Our navy boys, they hated the Americans. If any of us girls were seen going out of hours and being escorted. They used to hate it. They'd let us know.
We were always aware of this because we had some Americans in offices down quite close to where we were. It was only natural if we went past, we were always friendly with them and that. But the boys, if they saw us with Americans, they didn't like it. They were very jealous I would think.
