Mother's Day
We have the priviledge of caring for fantastic women and mothers in our Homes.
These are just a few of the messages that daughters and sons of our residents have sent to them.
At the age of 16, Elsie volunteered as a Cyclist Messenger in Manchester during the Blitz. Messenger work was dangerous and exhausting, cycling through the streets, carrying messages from the warden to the post centre where the news was compiled. She used to hide when she saw dead bodies and was worried when the sirens went off.
She recalls: “You used to hear shots from the artillery, then all the shrapnel would come down and you’d hear it clattering on the rooftops. Sometimes it made a spark. If your hat was dented by a piece of shrapnel you would paint the area white and wear it as a badge of honour!”
She joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) aged 18 and welcomed the adventure. She became a Morse code instructor, teaching at Compton Bassett. Three years later, Elsie trained as a Wireless Operator Mechanic at RAF Cranwell before being posted to Melton Mowbray where she tested the wireless equipment in the aircraft to ensure it worked before a flight.