Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

1943 – 1947

On 22nd April 1943, Norma enlisted in the WAAAFs.[1]

Upon arriving in Sydney from her country home of Mudgee, NSW,  Norma firstly had to report to Woolloomooloo Recruiting Centre for a medical check; she then had to return home waiting to hear if she had been accepted; she had enlisted as soon as she turned 18. Once accepted, she was sent to Bradfield Park to do her “rookies”;(at a later stage Norma also mentioned she spent time at Regents Park); “rookies” was a training course that lasted for 5 weeks. Many hours were spent on the drill square doing such things as box pattern marching and learning how to salute. Whilst doing their rookies, all the girls stayed at the Barracks (cabins) at Bradfield Park, a Royal Australian Air Force station located at the former suburb of Bradfield Park, now Lindfield.

When the recruits first arrived, they were handed hessian palliases which they had to fill full of straw. This was their bed for the 5 weeks.

When Norma entered the air force she weighed 6 stone 8 lbs, but after 5 weeks at Bradfield Park she weighed 8 stone 4, primarily as a result of freshly baked bread, with thick lashings of butter and golden syrup!

After 5 weeks, there was a passing-out parade at the Park after which there was mustering (a series of tests and an interview that determined which work you were best suited to). Norma was placed at the 2nd Stores Depot at Waterloo (Unit 2SD) as a clerk in the Accounts Department and she earned “4 bob” a week; those working in the Accounts Department were responsible for supplying uniforms and other essentials to the servicemen and women. At some stage, she was transferred the Stores Depot offices in Elizabeth St, Sydney CBD, opposite Mark Foys, still working as an Accounts Clerk.

She used to take violet crumble bars and peanut brittle back to her young niece, Moya, from Stores Depot – they were a rare commodity!

Norma was billeted at Hopewood House, the old Horden residence[2] on Darling Point Rd, Darling Point. It was one of the largest private homes ever built in Sydney with 40 rooms on 2 ½ acres of land. Each day Norma would catch the bus to work from Darling Point to Wooloomooloo. Monday Night was ‘Panic Night’ at Hopewood House – a furious clean up to get ready for inspection – the parquet floor and staircases all had to be polished and thoroughly cleaned and the sergeant’s bathrooms and toilets, all black and white tiles, had to be spotless.

Norma had various weekends home on leave – the Mudgee Guardian reported her home visits in June, July and October 1943, painting a lovely picture of her being “in the pink”

Whilst in the Air Force, Norma, being a talented swimmer, represented the 2nd Stores Depot and took part in swimming carnivals at North Sydney swimming pool and Coogee Bay Aquarium (which no longer exists); she was a member of the 2nd Stores Depot swimming team who were winners of the inter-unit trophy on at least one occasion.

Norma also played cricket at Redfern Oval opposite Waterloo Depot for a year, and of course her beloved hockey. She was a left-wing player with the WAAAF No 2 Stores Depot Hockey team and played at numerous carnivals; they were unbeaten champions of the Woollhara B grade competition.

Besides her sport, Norma used to visit the Stage Door canteen in Barrack St in the CBD. If you wanted to go out at night, you had to acquire a Live Out Pass and the Stage Door Canteen was a popular meeting place for service personnel. The Combined Services RSL Sub-Branch was established here in January 1943 and situated in the basement of the building was The Stage Door Canteen with a stage at one end and sandwiches, tea and coffee service on one side. This was a place where Australian and Allied servicemen and women could enjoy a meal or a snack, dance, socialize and enjoy the music of leading artists of that time. Norma became good friends with Pat, who suffered as a girl with polio, and used to often sing at the Stage Door canteen; Norma used to visit Pat and her little red cattle dog where they lived near the bridge at North Sydney, and at one stage went on a trip to Bowral with her to visit friends.

On several occasions Norma also went dancing at the Trocadero – the large ballroom in George St – to the sounds of the Sylvester band (Sylvester being the singer’s surname)

And on Sundays, the traditional outing was to the Domain to listen to the spruikers on their soap boxes.

In 1944, Norma married an RAAF man, Henry  Absolon (known as Ben), at St Mark's church, Darling Point; but it became apparent that the wartime marriage was not destined to be a long term one, and in 1947, Norma and Henry  divorced, Norma resturned home and remarried a local lad, Kevin England, who had also served in the RAAF. 

Towards end of the war, Norma also recounts being a patient in Concord Hospital where she had her appendix removed by a top specialist, a professor, who was the air force physician.

On 10th January, 1947, Norma was discharged from the Air Force, after having been in the air force for over 3 years.

[1] The Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) was formed in March 1941 after considerable lobbying by women keen to serve and by the Chief of the Air Staff who wanted to release male personnel serving in Australia for service overseas. The WAAAF was the first and largest of the World War II Australian Women's Services. It was disbanded in December 1947
[2] As soon as the war finished, Hopewood House was turned into a private hospital and eventually demolished in 1966. See http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/18186587