Royal Air Force's past comes to life

  • Published
  • By Gina Randall
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England- --  "I wanted to go somewhere and live a life," said Jean Patterson, a former Women's Auxiliary Air Force electrician during World War II from 1941 to 1946.

Dreaming of all the possibilities life had to offer, Patterson yearned for something more out of life than what she had always known - housework and caring for family in England. One of the bits of fansy she allowed herself were weekly trips to the cinema.

"I was the eldest of four girls, I was doing the housework and the shopping and looking after my sisters. I would go to the pictures, they were showing talky pictures, color pictures," Patterson explained as her reasons for joining the Royal Air Force. She wanted more from life and saw enlisting as a way to see the world and leave the home.

"I used to go to the films and dream of America, that was one way out, to get out of the home."

Since the Royal Navy was very strict about age requirements and knowing nothing about the Land Army, she went to that branch of service first as she thought they took girls at age 15. However, her first attempt to start a new life was quickly uncovered by her family.

"That was when my parents realized that I was trying to get away, the post-card came back saying 'you are too young'," Patterson said.

After the non-acceptance post-card came from the Land Army, Patterson changed tactics. She filled out a form from the newspaper and told the Royal Air Force recruiter she was 16 years, a year older than she actually was.

After receiving her acceptance in the WAAF, Patterson enlisted in May 1941 and travelled to London to the office in High Holburn for her swearing in. Even then, her age became a factor.

"They asked for my birth certificate but I didn't have it on me, so I went in at 16 and told them I was 18 on my next birthday," Patterson admits.

She was sworn in and then sent home. Patterson had to wait for the papers and they came in later that summer. After that, Patterson went to the training camp at Gloucester where she learnt the essentials of being in the military and became acclimated to the lifestyle.

"There I learned how to wear the uniform and how to salute," she said.

From there she was posted to South Wales for a few years and trained as an electrician. This career path was different than her initial assignment, to become a tailor and repair parachutes. By the time her training was complete at the Gloucester camp, Patterson learned the parachute workshop closed. Some of her friends went to armory while others went to work with her at the electrical shop.

"I did work on generators and all types of electrical things that were brought in, refurbished them," Patterson said.

Until then, only administrative and traditionally female positions were open to women. But, with the ramp up of wartime operations, more able bodies were needed in support positions, therefore opening the doors to women previously closed.

"Then, men were all electricians, but we weren't," she said as she explained how it was a first for women to do such jobs.

"The officer in charge was wanting to know if we were willing to be an electrician. We were doing the same work as the men, they were getting Group 2 pay and we were getting Group 5 (lower) pay."

In order to become electricians, they needed training first - which could only happen during their free time. The women sacrificed their dinner hours and evenings to receive the education.

Successfully navigating the curriculum, Patterson and her fellow service members all passed. They were sent to Chester for a trade test, which they also all passed.

"We were the first in the WAAF, we were unique," Patterson said. "(Becoming electricians) opened the door for other women," she said. "It opened the minds of the men."

Soon after, women became engineers and worked in the armory. They learned how to use and make guns. Women gaining access into the electrical career field opened the door for many other women in trades normally reserved for men.

Patterson spent five years in the service as an electrician before separating to have her first child. She spent all her teenage years in the service.

"I was expecting a baby, that's how I came out," Patterson said.

"I was being released that month, war was over, so I really did go until the end of the war."

Although Patterson left after World War II was essentially over, she never left her service commitment behind. Her years in service made Patterson the woman she is today. She learned a lot of hard and life-altering lessons while wearing the uniform.

One such lesson came from serving punishment for tardiness. Her punishment had her reporting from 6 a.m. to the end of the duty day, every hour, on the hour, accept during the hours she was working.

"It was a silly thing, we came in 10 minutes late one night," Patterson said. "So they put me on the charge. The crime was nothing compared to what I went through with the punishment. I couldn't hack that at all, so I made sure I was always on time in the future. I did learn my lesson."

Another lesson Patterson came away with was knowing she could take care of herself.

"Self-protection first and foremost," she said. "When you're a woman, you know you have to take care of yourself. You have no one to talk to about it, so you have to sort yourself out. It gave me initiative later in life to do things on my own."

It was the people Patterson met that remains the fondest of her memories.

"You mix with all types of people that you otherwise wouldn't mix with," she said. "You get to know different people through circumstances beyond ever your imagination."

More than 65 years since she last wore her service uniform, Patterson feels a kinship with the women who currently serve. She feels, in a small part, that her drive to become an electrician helped open the door for women to serve in the capacity they currently are serving.

"They seem to do everything, that's brilliant."

It's not just the fact that women have a wealth of options when they choose to serve. Serving in any capacity, Patterson feels, will define a person for the better. Patterson encourages women to make the most of it, as she did.

"Join. By all means join," said Patterson.