It is no exaggeration to say that what we have in this volume is a treasure chest of letters.
They start with Sheila, as an innocent ‘green girl’, joining the WRNS at the beginning of World War Two. She writes home to her mother, begging for parcels to be sent, for silk stockings, nail polish, and her old fur coat. She seems from the start to be obsessed with dances, dates and young men, and is determined not to have her hair cut short. But as these letters, like a journal, continue through the war, we see her grow into the feisty, ambitious and independent woman she will become.
Assigned to the important work of monitoring via cyphers and signals the enemy and British fleets, she travels to Egypt, and in her words becomes an ‘Invasion Addict’. She is promoted to Cypher Officer and as such has the knowledge of planned invasions and attacks. Her details of so many – now famous – turning points of the war are intriguing.
She lives a giddy life full of romance, hard work and danger, yet never loses her almost childlike wonder and excitement of the day-to-day social scene, the work she is doing, and her wonder at the Exotic East.
This is a chronicle of a time gone by, when in the midst of death and destruction so many women like Sheila, passionately committed to serving King and Country, were nonetheless equally committed to the important job of securing a suitable husband.
Sheila seems oblivious to her beauty, but not to the staggering number of young men who constantly pursue her. Like a modern-day Emily Eden, she enthrals us with details of her journey and adventures:
Saturday
Dinner at the Mena Hotel. It was just perfect – dining and dancing in the moonlight by the side of the swimming pool, all very gay – At about midnight we decided to walk up a hill to see the Pyramids, it was rather glorious – you walk out of the hotel garden up a hill which slopes round the foot of the Big Pyramid … which I climbed … and all in the bright moonlight … beautifully cool!
Her letters chart the war almost weekly. By the end she has met ‘unconventional’ Tom. He is the opposite of the social and gregarious Sheila, yet he seems to see off with ease any competition for her hand and heart. At the end of the war they plan to marry, as she writes to her mother:
Dear Ma,
Please don’t make too much fuss about anything – Tom hates it so – we shall get married I expect in a Registry Office – I honestly don’t think Tom would survive a proper wedding with relatives and guests – he’d probably get up and say something awful or shocking – he’s quite liable to!! And please don’t rush around telling everyone I am marrying a Czech!!
This is an extraordinary and detailed portrait of an intelligent and passionate woman, and a fascinating read.
Felicity Kendal CBE