ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

This is the story as told to me by my mother, Joan Hooper, who was a WAAF throughout the war, stationed around the country at various times. At the time of this story, she was stationed at RAF Warmwell in Dorset, a station that was to be totally destroyed later in one of the many bombing raids they suffered.
My mother, known to authority as LACW Brooks (illicit letter-off of fire extinguishers) worked as a cook in the Officers' Mess and there was an announcement that Princess Marina, the Duke of Kent and various high-ranking RAF officers would be making a tour of inspection and having lunch there.
The station was cleaned, a wonderful lunch prepared and new white catering uniforms issued: trousers; shirt; apron. All personnel were lined up in the Mess alongside a row of pillars and royalty was escorted in. En masse, everybody bowed or curtsied - except my mother, who bobbed and jerked frantically, only to discover that some joker had tied her to a pillar with her apron strings.
When she was put on a charge later for not curtseying, she pointed out that it wasn't her fault. "That is not the point!" snapped her commanding officer. "Well, the Princess laughed!" she pointed out. "That is also not the point!" he replied.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.