‘I know,’ her new friend wailed, and bent her head over the piece of paper with her number written on it.

The next few days passed in a blur. Form-filling, medical checks and inoculations, drill and uniform issue. Having queued for their kit of about sixty different items, they staggered back to their quarters.

‘Feels like a hundred and sixty when you try to carry it all,’ Mavis laughed as she dumped it on her bed and began to sort through it. ‘How are we supposed to get all this stuff in this kit-bag?’

‘Wear most of it, probably,’ Kate suggested.

Mavis gave a shriek of laughter and held up a large pair of navy-blue knickers. ‘Have you seen these? Passion-killers, if ever I saw ’em. My gran wouldn’t be seen dead in a pair like this!’

Kate giggled. ‘We’d call them “apple-catchers”.’

Mavis blinked. ‘Eh?’

Kate sat on the side of the bed and rocked with laughter. ‘A pair like that could hold quite a lot . . .’

Puzzled, Mavis looked at the item of underwear again and then, understanding, ‘You mean when you’re apple-scrumping. I’ve never heard that one before. I see what you mean.’ She gave another hoot of laughter. ‘I don’t reckon you could run very fast with the farmer after you and these full of apples.’

‘What on earth are you two laughing about? Share the joke,’ Jill called.

In moments, all the girls in the room were convulsed in laughter and, minutes later when their NCO came to give them a demonstration as to how to make their beds in the required manner and how to lay out their kit for inspection, there were still stifled giggles when it came to the folding and laying out of a particular garment!

‘Kit inspection first thing tomorrow morning,’ the NCO said as she left the room.

Kate surveyed her belongings on her bed. ‘What did she say we have to do with our civvies, Mavis?’

Her friend was again studying the scrap of paper in her hand. ‘ . . . Six-five-nine. Er – parcel ’em up to be sent home.’

‘Oh yes.’ Kate began to fold her clothes. ‘Can you remember how to lay out all this kit? I’ve forgotten what she said already.’

‘ . . . Five-nine. Nope. Jill’s good at that,’ Mavis said, nodding towards the girl bending over the bed on the other side of Kate. ‘She’s promised to go through it again with me tonight.’

‘Great! Can I watch too?’

‘ . . . nine. Got it! At least – I think I have. Yeah, ’course you can. Come on, let go and find the mess.’

‘Oh my,’ Kate teased, ‘we’re learning all the names, even if we can’t memorize our number!’

Mavis grinned good-naturedly. ‘Anything to do with food, Kate, and I can be absolutely relied upon to remember it! Come on . . .’