Pte. Betty Shaw
Auxiliary Territorial Service 93rd Searchlight Regiment, 342nd Battery Royal Artillery
from:Sheffield
In 1941 Betty Shaw tried to join up age 16, but was turned away. In 1942 she tried again and was accepted. As she was an accomplished baker and cook from the age of 13 in Sampson's Bakery in Sheffield she was placed in the catering route. After training at Lancaster Castle she was transferred to Kinmel Park Camp outside Rhyl in North Wales for further training prior to being posted.
On completion she was posted to Hertfordshire, with her HQ being in Watford. Their unit was then posted to Holts Mere End where there was a 150cm Searchlight. She quickly became familiar with her kitchen duties and at 17 was adopted by some of the older girls on site who kept their eye on her. Being a Yorkshire lass, she quickly became known for her incredible Yorkshire puddings, and one of the senior officers from Watford HQ, a Major Teague, who did regular visits to the sites, always made sure Betty was on duty on Yorkshire pudding day, as being from Yorkshire he made sure he was able to have that little taste of home. Betty being very mindful of rationing wasted nothing, she created a very tasty rissole, another favourite of many on site, and ensuring no food went to waste. She thoroughly enjoyed her time serving with the other girls but was not a fan of the bombings. She remembered how during one very heavy raid she was taken to the air raid shelter on site due to her shaking. That night the next site up from theirs had taken a direct hit and several of the women were killed. She did her best during the bombings and eventually was able to cope, with the girls jokingly saying, "Our Betty is a good 'un she makes gravy underfire". This remained a long standing family joke.
Betty married and had 3 children. She was happily married until she lost her husband after 36 years together. She also remained great friends with her best pal Ivy right up to her own death in 2006 aged 82. She will never be forgotten...
