A subdued chuckle ran along the ranks a moment later as the captain said drily: ‘Sergeant! Have you made a note of the names of those not wishing to re-muster?’

Everyone laughed as the sergeant, grinning sheepishly, said that he had done so, but Glenys had thought of another question and raised her hand again, catching the captain’s eye and speaking quickly, before he could give the command to dismiss. ‘Please, Captain Dorrington, since we may be seconded to remote places and will obviously have to rely upon one another far more than we do now, will it be possible for friends and colleagues to stay together?’

She half expected a freezing set-down, but instead he nodded slowly. ‘Yes, I’m sure that can be arranged. Any more questions?’

There were none, and upon being dismissed the girls congregated in small groups outside their huts. ‘I just hope, when we finish our training, we can get a few days’ leave,’ a tall, athletic girl said hopefully. ‘My home’s in Devon, and I’ve not been able to get to see my parents once since I joined.’ She turned to Glenys. ‘What do you think? I heard you talking in the Mess the other day and you’ve not been home either, have you?’

Glenys hesitated, not wanting to have to explain that she had no desire to return to the farm, but Jane, the only person there who knew she was a foundling, cut in quickly. ‘Well, unless they post us to the Outer Hebrides, we ought to be able to visit our families more often. I dare say it’s true that the army is much meaner with our time than the air force or the Navy, but most of us have been in at least a year and that’s a long time to go without seeing family and friends.’

The pretty red-headed Maisie hugged herself. ‘My folk live in Penzance. We’re a family with a tradition of going into the Navy, so Mum and Dad are used to my brothers being at sea for long periods, but I must say they grumbled when the army didn’t let me go home. What good is a forty-eight when you’re trying to get from Newcastle to Penzance? Oh, well, I suppose it’s all part of being at war. And Lucy there . . .’ she indicated a serious, dark-haired girl who had just turned from another conversation, having heard her name, ‘Lucy was brought up by an aunt she doesn’t like, so they’re both positively grateful to the army for keeping them apart.’ She raised her voice. ‘Isn’t that so, Lucy?’

The dark-haired girl smiled and nodded. ‘Yes, Aunt is glad of any excuse which keeps me at one end of the country and her at the other,’ she said. ‘But what do you think about all this, girls? I did wonder whether the army was thinking of girls on the ack-ack batteries when we took those intelligence and physical tests. I mean, look at the Waafs! I’ve watched the girls on the balloon site and they cope without the help of any men, and cope very well, too. But look, from what the captain said it sounds as though there’s a chance that if we go to the basic training in groups, we might actually re-muster in a group as well. Let’s put all our names together – the girls from this hut, I mean – and see if we can at least begin our new careers together. The army can only say no, after all.’