Operator, Wireless and Line

[Herald1360]

Changing aerial lengths for day and night use sounds very plausible since the optimum frequencies for day and night operation can be quite different.

[HamishBoxer]

Propagation at night is a different thing altogether than day.Hence alot of dxing(long distance reception) is done at night.

[greenstar]

I'm in a bit of a quandry now, as my mum has become anxious about my sharing her experiences. I had tried to tell her I was using a forum, but not managed to convey what one is. She has started to say she wishes she hadn't told me, so will have to leave it as it is. I have plenty to work with. I have had a tape I made with her 30 yrs ago digitised, and on hearing it again was encouraged to hear that there is a lot more detail, although more social than technical. She has also, bless her, now lent me a diary for 1944, which details some of her time in Shrewsbury and Kent. I will scan this. She tells me she threw away several as they were in pencil and hard to read. I have requested her service record to clarify the sequence of events, but it looks as though she mis-remembered her service number, so not sure if this will arrive. I emphasised that there is no longer a security issue, but her reservations are more because it is her personal experience.
So I will continue expanding the account incorporating the new material, but am not sure what to do with it or the recording without her permission. Even if I just pass it on to the family it will be worth the effort.

[greenstar]

Mulling this over, I think there is no harm in my adding purely technical details as they come up. I really appreciate the input people have made here, as throughout the forum - a fantastic community.
it is clear now that she used the Canadian 9 throughout, even in Kent where she had only mentioned the Fullerphone. They were required to maintain radio silence during the Normandy invasion, and had a listening brief, while also being busy with line messaging around everything from troop movements to compassionate leave - these were not coded.
They also saw a film in Shrewsbury (early 44) on the 22 set, which was said to be replacing the '9', despite being shorter range. This does not seem to have happened.

[Radio Wrangler]

If it's any comfort to your mother, there are a lot of people who, although born after the war, have a fair understanding of what was at stake, and have great appreciation of ALL those who got the country through it.

David

[greenstar]

David, I appreciate this. I've noted before that what my mum finds hurtful is that there has never, even now it seems, been any official recognition of what she personally did. They were expected to forget all about it, and boy, officialdom seem to have totally forgotten about them. Forgetting isn't the word - more like deliberate amnesia, as though they did something shameful. She does have some interest in what she did and a certain amount of pride. My dad got all sorts of medals just for being in places like Algeria - which he wasn't really bothered about, but he too was proud of what he did (RAF fitter).
I suppose it would cost too much now for any kind of acknowledgment, so they will just fade out of history.

[greenstar]

I'd like to share a couple of entries that may elicit some information.
26th June 1944
"Picked up a German R/T station with a peculiar call sign. It was this, over and over (see below)".
3rd July "Off this morning. Lecture on 'Slidex' (Code on R/T), Duty till 8".
Does this ring any bells for code experts? (Have found info on this http://chris-intel-corner.blogspot.c...idex-code.html).
And:
19th July "Back on night duty to find the wireless set had opened. We've got a new Canadian 9, and it's lovely, all shining grey, with a loudspeaker and large earphones that shut out all external noises, but Golly, I didn't have a wink of sleep all night".

[M0SOE_Bruce]

There's a bit of info on slidex on the web. I have a kit with 6 cards from various branches of the army. This was a low level code that the Germans found easy to break. It was good for short term traffic.

I think it was replaced by BATCO in later years.

The #9 set is a big beast.

[dave walsh]

Wednesday nights 24 Hours In A+E on CH4 featured a lady who had been in Shetland transcribing morse which I think would be Bletchley related.
Thursday night on BBC4 included P4 of the Time Watch WW2 Guide which showed Bletchley U Boat interception with an AR88 in view!
Dave W

[m0cemdave]

That musical callsign was used as an interval signal by a broadcaster in the 1960's/70's.
I can't remember which one though.

[paulsherwin]

Thread reopened by request.

[greenstar]

Thank you Paul.
My mother, Joyce Mitchell nee Monks very sadly passed away in September, after a long struggle with dementia, through which she showed the same courage she evidenced all her life.
I have a free hand with her material.
There is very little written material I can find on the broader context of her wartime service. I am thinking of submitting a summary as an article for the BVWS bulletin. That would be based on her experiences as told to me personally, and on her surviving diary, rather than an attempt to make sense of it from researching the network she was involved in, but if anybody knows of material relating to the 'OWLS' that would shed more light, I would be appreciative. There is near vacuum, a couple of mentions on the net, but not much. There did appear to be a network, around which she took postings, but she never referred to or I think knew about Bletchley Park, or Y intercept Beaumanor Hall, for example, so I think it was quite distinct. She sent and received in code - possibly simply general Army communications, but then why the obscurity?
Thanks all, and a HAPPY 2022!
Tony

[paulsherwin]

Sorry to hear of your mother's death. There are very few of that generation left now.

Everyone involved in WW2 signals and intelligence work had it drummed into them that they were never to discuss their work with anyone, even their nearest and dearest, and this continued once the war ended. I was surprised to learn in the late 70s that my postgraduate supervisor had spent the war years as a senior cryptographer at Bletchley - she never referred to it, or discussed anything specific.

Good luck with your efforts. One thing I would suggest is that you scan your mother's diaries and notes, and store them on the net somewhere. This will preserve them for future generations of researchers, even if the originals are lost.

[greenstar]

Yes, you are right, Paul, my mum referred very little to her wartime work, and mostly wanted to keep any discussion between ourselves. I have one diary 1944-5 and have scanned it. She told me latterly she had disposed of others because they were hard to read.

[HamishBoxer]

Just a point, did your late mother ever sell a Morse key on ebay a few years ago?

I bought one that had a story behind it, though limited what was revealed.

[greenstar]

Hamish, no, but thanks, it won't have been my mum's. She never kept any souvenirs. After the war she did emergency teacher training, and never sent morse again, although she remembered it all her life.

[Stockden]

Tony,

I have access to a couple of the official history books, which will shed some light on the OWL trade make up, but may not add much to your mother’s particular story. Unfortunately I’m hospitalised with covid pneumonia at the moment so it’ll probably be a week or 2 before I can do anything about it. I’ll be in touch when I can.

Hugh

[greenstar]

Hugh, that would be most helpful, and thanks for the response in the circumstances. I hope you get out soon and well.
Tony

[Stockden]

Having recovered from the Lurgi I've now had a chance to dig through the books I mentioned and have scanned the pages that I think are relevant. The books are:

The History of British Army Signals in the Second World War - Published by the Royal Signals Institution in 1953 ("BAS" in the attachment file names)

and

The volume on "Signal Communications" from the official history of "The Second World War 1935-1945" - Published by The War Office in 1950 ("OH" in the attachment file names)


Unfortunately there isn't much on the Operator Wireless and Line (except how it fits with the other Royal Signals trades of the time) though there is rather more on the employment of women (ATS). I wouldn't read anything into the absence of information on the OWL. It was, after all, one of the larger (if not the largest) trades and continued into at least the 1950s and possible beyond (there were some former OWLs still serving when I was in Catterick in the early 80s).

If you haven't already seen them there's John Russell's story of his OWL training on the BBC "People's War" site here and a copy of "Trade Training Notes, Part 18, Notes for Operators Wireless and Line, c. 1948" on the Wireless Set No.19 group's web site here.

I hope that sheds a little light on you mum's wartime career. I'm sorry that there isn't more but I'll have another dig through those books and post anything that I think might help.

Hugh

[greenstar]

Hugh, many thanks for these extracts. They do give some useful background.

Tony