Olivia’s tongue slipped between her lips as she tried to twist the rope she was holding into a reef knot. As her hands looped round each other she pulled them apart, hoping to see something which resembled what the officer had shown them earlier, only to find that once again, her rope remained unknotted. She looked over to Maude, who was frowning at her own attempt at a knot.

‘For crying out loud,’ Olivia hissed from the corner of her mouth, ‘whoever thought tying a knot would prove so difficult?’

‘It reminds me of the magician me mam and dad took me to see when I was little, only he tied knots, then they untied themselves.’ Maude considered this for a moment before adding, ‘A bit like what I’m doing, I suppose, because it doesn’t matter how much I twist this stupid rope round, it still comes out looking nothing like what Officer Haughton did.’

‘We’ve got to master this,’ said Olivia, her tone full of determination, ‘else we’ll be sent for canteen staff, and I had enough of peeling spuds when we did our initial training. I’ll be hanged if I let a length of rope send me back to the kitchen.’

Maude nodded emphatically. ‘I spoke to one of the girls when I nipped to the lavvy earlier, and she said she was just like us at first, but they go over and over it until you can tie them in your sleep. She said they make sure you get it right because it could turn out to be the difference between life and death.’

Olivia grimaced at the piece of rope in her hands. ‘Blimey!’

Maude continued, ‘She also said she’s seen some of the balloons come back in shreds. She reckoned they were in better shape than the fellers who’d been operating them …’ She fell silent as Officer Haughton, who had overheard them whispering, looked in her direction.

‘Aircraftwoman Harris! You’ve obviously mastered the reef knot to the point you can stand idly chatting – perhaps you would like to demonstrate your expertise to the rest of the class?’

Flushing red to the tips of her ears, Maude reluctantly walked to the front of the class where she tried in vain to knot the dreaded rope whilst the other girls looked on.

Pressing his lips into a grim line, the officer took the rope from her unresisting hands and tied it with ease, retaining eye contact with Maude. He handed the rope back to her complete with knot. ‘I don’t want to hear another peep out of you until you can tie that knot with your eyes closed.’

Nodding mutely, Maude returned to her seat.

Olivia cast her a sympathetic smile as Officer Haughton slowly demonstrated the knot to the class, adding that none of them would be allowed to leave the room until they also could tie the knot with their eyes shut.