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This story was submitted to the People’s War site, by Nancy Waterfall, Learning Officer at the National Trust at Sutton Hoo, on behalf of Edna King (nee Ronson), and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

I arrived at Sutton Hoo when I was 23. There were about half a dozen Ipswich girls, and a number of Londoners and girls from Yorkshire. We went to work by bus and started at 7.30 in summer and 8.00 in the winter. Our finish time was 5.00pm.

The uniform was top quality. The wool stockings and the brogue gibsons shoes were a lovely fit. The shoes had hobnails. The breeches were cavalry twill and the pullover a vivid grass green. The fawn Melton topcoat was double breasted and a felt hat topped the outfit.

For working we wore dungarees and a fawn twill milking jacket. When Japanese action made rubber unavailable for wellingtons we went into lace-up boots.

Once we had a barn dance in the lounge, which was great fun. On another an ENSA concert took the form of a chamber concert, which most of us hated!

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