Olga Hopkins, who served in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force during the Second World War, reflects with pride on her service and recalls how she celebrated the announcement of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, 80 years ago.
At just 18 and determined to do her part for the war effort, Olga travelled to Cardiff to volunteer with the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF).
She began her initial training in 1943 and remembers having to adjust to the communal living arrangements as well as the physical inspections. She went on to excel in her intelligence tests, so was assigned as a Wireless Mechanic trainee at the Royal Technical College in Glasgow.
During her time there, she heard news of the D-Day operations and recalls how she joined her comrades in celebrating the news.
“We were all crowded in the refectory and having our morning coffee. A man came in, holding a newspaper, and shouted out ‘the Second Front, the Second Front’. We all cheered and cheered, and thought it was wonderful.”
Throughout her service in the WAAF, Olga worked on Blenheim Bombers and Ansons, carrying out radio inspections and transporting radio equipment.
She looks back on her time in the WAAF with great fondness, especially her 21st birthday while posted at RAF Spitalgate. Although the day began on a low note – with no birthday cards or presents – an unexpected encounter turned her mood around.
“I ended up dancing with this very handsome Dutch cadet. I told him how miserable I was because it was my birthday, and no one knew. He told everyone and I had a great time after that.”
On VE Day, Olga heard the news of the German surrender come through on the American Forces Network radio station. As she lay in bed around midnight, the programme was interrupted by a tannoy announcement: “The war is over. The war is over. It’s been signed.”
“We all jumped out of bed and put our battledress on over our pyjamas. We went to the sergeant’s mess where there was a party going on, so we joined in.
“I remember me and some other girls singing the Cole Porter song ‘Don’t fence me in’ and I had a whale of a time.”
Eighty years on from VE Day, she still remembers the sense of joy, relief, and pride that marked the end of the Second World War in Europe.
A few years later in 1947, Olga was demobbed, and went on to study at Cardiff University, later becoming a teacher.
Thinking back on her time in service, she feels proud and tells us, “I always look up when planes fly by. The WAAF gave me a lifelong love of science. I never miss the Royal British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance and March Past the Cenotaph and make sure I buy a poppy every year.”
