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Maddie was stationed at Oakway to begin with, very convenient to ho
Not in Britain anyway We were biting our nails, practising
Waiting
Telephonist
‘You! Girl in the blue cardigan!’
Five girls in headsets looked round from their switchboards, pointed to their chests and mouthed silently, Me?
‘Yes, you! Aircraftwo here? You’re a licensed radio operator!’
Maddie pointed to her headset and the front cord she was about to connect
‘Take the da off and answer me’
Maddie turned back to her switchboard and coolly plugged in the front cord She toggled the appropriate keys and spoke clearly into the headset ‘The Group Captain is through to you now, sir You o ahead’ She took off the headset and turned back to the troll aiting for a reply It was the chief flight instructor for Oakway’s Royal Air Force squadron, the o
‘Sorry, sir This is where I’ve been posted, sir’ (I did say it was like being at school)
‘Posted! You’re not even any of you in uniforhtened their Air Force blue cardigans
‘We’ve not been issued full dress, sir’
‘Posted!’ the officer repeated ‘You’ll start in the radio room tomorrow, Aircraftwoman Brodatt The operator’s assistant is doith influenza’ And he lifted the headset froe head ‘Put h to the WAAF administration unit,’ he said ‘I want to talk to your Section Officer’
Maddie flipped the keys and plugged in the cords and he gave her posting orders over her own telephone
Radio Operator
‘Tyro to ground, tyro to ground,’ ca aircraft ‘Position uncertain, overhead triangular body of water to east of corridor’
‘Ground to tyro,’ answered Maddie ‘Is it a lake or a reservoir?’
‘Say again?’
‘Lake or reservoir? Your triangular body of water’
After a short silence, Maddie proot a daround Affire balloons at ten o’clock and Macclesfield at eight o’clock?’
‘Tyro to ground, affirm Position located Overhead Ladyswell for return to Oakway’
Maddie sighed ‘Ground to tyro, call on final approach’
‘Wilco’
Maddie shook her head, swearing unprettily under her breath ‘Oh my sainted aunt! Unlireat city in the north-west! That would be the dirty great city surrounded at 3000 feet by a few hundred silver hydrogen balloons as big as buses! How in the na to find Berlin if he can’t find Manchester?’
There was a bit of quiet in the radio roo Aircraftwo’
--
‘Brodatt, stop there’
Maddie and everyone else had been told to go hos anyway, for an afternoon’s rest It was a day of such appallingly evil weather that the street lamps would have been lit if it weren’t for fear of ene them, not that enemy aircraft can fly in such murk either Maddie and the other WAAFs in her barracks still hadn’t got proper uniforms, but as it inter they had been issued RAF overcoats – men’s overcoats War a tent Maddie clutched hers tight in at the sides when the officer spoke to her, standing straight and hoping she looked smarter than she felt She stopped so he could catch up with her, waiting on the duckboards laid over the concrete apron because there was sowater about that if you stepped in a puddle it came over the tops of your shoes
‘Was it you talked down ?’ the officer asked
Maddie gulped She had thrown radio protocol to the wind to guide those boys in, bullying the they would follow her instructions without question and that she wasn’t directing theed steel cables that tethered the barrage balloons nised the officer: it was one of the squadron leaders
‘Yes, sir,’ she adh The air was so full of moisture it made her hair stick to her forehead She waitedhim to summon her to be court-martialled
‘Those boys jolly well owe you their lives,’ he said to Maddie ‘Not one of the without a ’
‘Thank you, sir,’ Maddie gasped
‘Singing your praises, those lads were Made h; have you any idea what the runway looks like from the air?’
Maddie smiled faintly ‘I’ve a pilot’s "A" licence Still valid Of course I haven’t flown since August’
‘Oh, I see!’
The RAF squadron leader set off to walk Maddie to the canteen at the airfield’s perimeter She had to trot a little to match his stride
‘Took your licence here at Oakway, did you? Civil Air Guard?’
‘Yes, sir’