Cheltenham Ladies' College Magazine 1945
OLD GIRLS
We hope that, with the gradual return to civil life, Old Girls will be good enough to let us know something of their war service and experiences; in the meantime our readers will be interested to know that:
BIRGIT BJORNSON (nee Jacobsson), after matriculating, studied at Basle University and in Geneva. She obtained the Diploma of the Ecole de Guerre de Paris "Pour la Coupe" (Cutting-out and fashion-drawing). In April, 1944, she crossed Germany from Basle to Stockholm. Here she studied Swedish, spoke regularly by radio to America, and worked at the Belgian legation, leaving there to be married. She crossed the Atlantic in a cargo boat and is now in Washington.
CHRISTINE BRIGGS, who is a W.A.A.F. Section Officer, after some months at S.H.A.E.F. Advance H.Q. at Frankfurt, has been sent to Berlin. At
the time of writing she was the only W.A.A.F. officer working with Air Division of the Control Commission there. She is in charge of six W.A.A.F.s who work in the branch dealing with German personnel, and is responsible for much of the administrative work in connection with the disposal of former members of the Luftwaffe.
SHEILA COLLINS is one of the six members o£ U.N.R.R.A. in Germany—four British and two American—to be cited in an Order of the Day by General de Gaulle for their exceptional services in repatriating French prisoners of war and deportees.
BARONESS FLEETWOOD (Erin Jacobsson), licenciee es sciences politiques, crossed Germany from Basle to Stockholm in March, 1943, to obtain material for her economic thesis. She studied there, and worked as Assistant to the Financial Attache1 at the American Legation. She spoke by radio regularly to America, translating her scripts. She intends to continue her economic work although married.
VALERIE KELLY (nee Webber), V.A. D. Commandant, R.N. Auxiliary Hospital, Southport, is the youngest Commandant in the B.R.C.S.
SHEILA MCDERMOTT, Q.A.I.M.N.S., has been working for some time in casualty clearing stations in Burma. She finds time to write plays and organize entertainments for the troops.
PATSY MULCAHY-MORGAN is a Welfare Officer to the B.R.C.S.
JOAN PENFOLD, writing from an internment camp at Kiangsu, China, says "communications in this region broke down and so we did not receive official notification of the 'cease-fire' for over a week. The situation here has been unsettled despite the Armistice, many disgruntled Japanese soldiers lurch about, so to avoid incidents we are keeping within our compound; after two and a half years of being shut in it is so tantalising still to have to remain within these walls. All sorts of townsfolk—officials, friends' friends, relatives of servants—are sending in cumshaws, and Chinese school children despatched some of their number bearing eggs and pears for our school children. Our food, supplemented by Red Cross supplies, is more than adequate, especially now that our tummies have adjusted themselves to accommodating only small quantities. This was a record cold winter for length and intensity, no fuel for heating and a strictly rationed and limited supply of hot drinking water. The future is most uncertain, we hope to pick up the threads of affairs in Shanghai but everything is chaotic there and now that the extra-territoriality of the place is a thing of the past conditions may become too difficult for foreigners. Capt. Cox has given us a fascinating resume of the war since we last had real news nearly four years ago. What a lot we have never heard of, and of the rest what incredible distortions ! I am not trying for furlough, if there is school I want to be there to"help."
FELICITE POTTER, Chief Officer (W.R.N.S.) in the Portsmouth Command, has been awarded the M.B.E. for her work in planning for 'D' day.