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Part 5 Social life in Athens, more VIPs, and VE Day January — May 1945

In January those of us who had been living in the Embassy under difficult conditions and working there at all hours of the day and night during the Civil War were given a week’s leave in Cairo, two at a time. On 9th January Freddie (Winifred) Lowe and I flew out. We had wonderful views over the Greek islands and there were cotton wool clouds in the sky. Then I fell asleep and woke up nearly four hours later as we came in to land at Cairo.

I had a very enjoyable week, staying at Moncrieff House, visiting friends I had made in Cairo and spending a couple of nights with the Blooms at the P.D.S.A. hospital. Alan (Basher) Pickford, my sister’s friend, was also in Cairo, shortly before leaving for home. The Museum was now open again so I was able to see the artefacts from King Tutankhamun’s tomb. On our return journey from El Adem over the sea we were required to wear “Mae Wests”. These were inflatable lifejackets named after the actress of voluptuous build.

Two days after my return to Athens I had what I thought was a cold in my left eye. By Sunday teatime, two days later, the pain was excruciating and Mr Harman took me over to the Evangelissmos Hospital, opposite the School, where a doctor put a drop in my eye. I went to bed early but was woken at 11.45 pm by the Head of Chancery for two “Most Immediate” telegrams. Mary and Phyl were both out, so I had to decypher the telegrams and though was back in bed about 12.15 am, did not sleep a wink. The next day the Army doctor and said I must go to hospital. I was picked up by ambulance and taken to the 97th General Hospital in a substantial building on the outskirts of Athens, where I stayed for eight days. I spent the first few days in bed but after that was able to sit on the roof which was very pleasant. I had plenty of visitors from the Embassy and made friends among the other patients. My treatment included M&B [May and Baker — an early antibiotic, I think] and penicillin drops, penicillin then being in its early days.

On 12th February Mrs Leeper wanted us out of the Embassy flat to make way for some important visitors. There was still a lot going on in the political field and on 14th February several of us went to the Regent’s house in the afternoon and stood with the Press photographers by the gate. We first saw Churchill’s plane flying over escorted by Lightnings, all shining silver in the cloudless blue sky. Eventually the whole party arrived: Churchill, Eden, the Ambassador and Harold Macmillan. During the evening we saw them all again arriving at the Embassy. It was no doubt for the party and their entourage that we had been precipitately evicted from the Embassy flat two days before.

Lucy Manley, the Ambassador’s secretary, Freddie Lowe and I moved into the Y.W.C.A., which had recently opened in a large house and annexe on a main road not far from the Embassy. A week later three of the other girls moved down from the School. Initially Lucy, Freddie and I shared a large room, then Freddie moved out and Lucy and I made the room homely, purchasing material from Cairo for curtains and bedspreads. We had all our meals at the Y.W. although we were able to go up to the School for a meal when we liked.

The water situation at the Y.W. was just as erratic as it had been at the Embassy and the School and when we first moved in there was only cold water. A couple of days later I found the water was hot so decided to have a bath. The bath was enormous, with fittings from a previous era and a step all round it to aid access. After a few minutes in it I thought the surface felt a little odd and that perhaps it needed a good clean. I then found my heels and seat were covered in white paint!

I wrote to Nancy in March: “I sat on the balcony [at the Y.W.] in the sun before and after lunch and spent about 45 minutes darning one stocking. It was lovely in the sun although it was rather like sitting on a balcony overlooking Piccadilly or somewhere! There are trams (non est in Piccadilly so it must be somewhere), buses and masses of other traffic and blocks of flats all round. However there is a convenient bend in the road and a gap in the buildings through which one gets a very good view of Hymettus”. I celebrated my birthday on 29th March with a cake sent from Cairo, a snifter with the W/T boys and dinner at the Club.

Life gradually reverted to normal after the Civil War ended. There was still plenty of work to do and we did our two shifts, plus Sunday morning every other week , being on call in turns till late evening and spending a week sleeping at the Embassy every few weeks. There was quite a lot of movement among the staff, with an increase in numbers. On 2nd May the two boys Ron and Pat were recalled to London although they did not leave until 25th May and 7th June respectively. On 29th May two cyphereens arrived from London, Betty Bromage and the other who hailed from Cornwall with the delightful name of Tryphena Vinnicombe.

A choir was started at the church, the first practice having to be abandoned as there was no piano at the Y.W. We gradually got organised with weekly choir practices in St Paul’s [the Anglican church in Athens]and sat in the choir stalls at services. There was no regular incumbent but services conducted by a padre or chaplain of whichever unit was serving in Athens were well attended.

Lieut. Ken Onions whom Dorothy and I had met on our Palestine holiday when we broke down in the Sinai desert had come to Athens on a visit at the end of November 1944 and again at Christmas, and he and Dorothy were engaged before Christmas. He was later posted to Greece and then to Athens, and Dorothy moved out of the Y.W. and into a flat. [They were married at St Paul’s Church on 16 June 1945 and I was Dorothy’s bridesmaid. Their reception was at Ken’s mess.]

An Officers’ Club had opened in the town, which we were allowed to use and we quite often went there for dinner and dancing especially for special occasions such as birthdays or farewell parties. Other parties were held in the lounge at the School, for instance on 18th April when we had sent our 1000th telegram to the Foreign Office

There was also now an ENSA cinema, which we patronized quite frequently. The local cinemas showed British and American films but occasionally they would sell tickets when there were no seats left, and the smell of garlic was rather overpowering, so we preferred ENSA. In the summer there were open-air cinemas, but there was no guarantee that it would not rain!

At the Y.W. the Army Welfare started dancing classes and Hazel and I went to the first one. The only other taker was a Naval Officer in mufti and as there were three instructors from Army Welfare we did well with the instruction. The following evening there was a dance at the Y.W. and the Naval Officer, Bill, turned up again. We became friendly and he showed me all over the submarine on which he was serving, in Piraeus harbour. It was very claustrophobic and as he was of quite large build it seemed strange he had chosen to become a submariner. He was in Athens for about a month but then it was ‘Good-bye’ as he was married. I noted that a later dance at the Y.W. was “all brigs and things” and horribly boring.

We were quite often employed on the bag run, taking diplomatic bags to the airport or collecting them. As the airport was near the sea, in the afternoons we could combine the trip with a swim. We also reconnoitred some nice sunny spots on Lycabettus and often spent the afternoons there sunbathing, reading, knitting, darning, writing letters etc.

One Sunday a party of us were taken to Salamis in a Greek naval caique. The engine failed before we got there so we finished up under sail. It was an interesting island with a monastery. The priest had spent 30 years in New York and spoke some words with a marked American accent. Although it was only February there was almond and fruit blossom, and grain and vines growing. Unfortunately for us it was a cold bleak day.

Excursions were arranged again on Sundays after the Civil War and we had some lovely walks, climbing all over the three mountains surrounding the Athens plain: Hymettus famous for its honey, Pendeli where there were marble quarries and Parnes. The countryside was something I had particularly missed in Cairo. There were beautiful wild flowers: crocuses, anemone and blue wood anemones. At the end of March on Parnes we were up to our thighs in snow. We also went further afield, as we were still able to get army transport, and as the warmer weather came it was interesting to see the agriculture come to life again, with vineyards and grain crops. One day we went in a jeep to Piraeus and Phaleron and got a tram back, and another day went to Piraeus by tram. On one occasion a woman crossed herself as we passed in a jeep. Another day on a trip to Spata we were warned by villagers in good German not to walk because of mines.

On Greek Orthodox Good Friday, 4th May, we walked up Lycabettus in the evening, watching the procession as it wound its way up the zig-zag path to the chapel at the top. A pall is carried representing the body of Christ and all the people following carry lighted candles. From halfway up Lycabettus we could see several other processions including the big one in Constitution Square, all by the light of the candles.

Four days later it was VE Day. It began at 6 am with the sounds of church bells, guns and bands, and there were parades and celebrations in the town. We worked as usual in the morning. In the afternoon I took a diplomatic bag down to the airport, then we went to Warden Baker’s [the Consul] at Piraeus, where we bathed on his private beach. Back to the Embassy about 5.30 pm and worked until 8 pm. Then a huge party of us went round to Zacky’s taverna and had dinner in the garden.

In my diary I wrote:
“’Went the day well? We died and never knew. But well or ill, England we died for you’. A good day for those with people fighting in Europe, sad for those who have lost people. Very little personal excitement with one of the twins [my brother Alec] in Burma”.

I was married in Athens in October to Edward George Harman, who also worked at the Embassy, and we went back to England the following year.

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