Later I discovered that my correspondent was a major, outranking our GCO, fortunately he didn't know who I was. These tasks were performed in the RAF by WAAF's and we were told from the beginning that we would be replaced eventually by the ATS but by the time I left Plymouth in 1942 they still hadn't taken over. It was quite a boring job at times and most of us hoped for something more challenging. The Line Section's work was a little better, they went out daily, running more lines and repairing those damaged in air raids; in our detachment there was no establishment for a draughtsman but the Line Section wanted a record of the routes of all their lines and so I drifted into the job. Armed with a one-inch-to-the-mile Ordnance Survey map I produced the necessary drawings; it was also alleged that I marked the locations of all the coffee shops in the area but there's no truth to it. Phone lines across the country followed whatever path was most suitable, using twisted Don8 cable that was attached to any convenient feature, trees telegraph poles or buildings. In the case of the line to Fort Tregantle I spent a day with others on a fatigue party digging a trench across the road in which the cable was to be buried. A call went out to the local populace asking for empty cotton reels; these were to be used not specifically as insulators but rather as attachment points offering less fretting to the cable than a nail alone would do. The GCO's varied in rank but I don't remember seeing anyone above the rank of captain, on the other hand two of the NAALO's were lieutenant-commanders, a couple were lieutenants in the "wavy navy" and one was a Canadian, a lieutenant in their "wavy navy". He was a breath of spring, light hearted and humorous and compared to our lot relatively undisciplined. Commander Bond was, I think, a serving officer but Commander Staples had been recalled from retirement; he was a gentle, polite father figure, at least that's how he appeared to me. One lieutenant was Viscount Trapraine who was responsible for producing the plotting table map. I heard of him after the war as being a member of the crew of a square-rigged sailing ship. Another lieutenant was Vivian Ellis, composer of Bless the Bride.