Biography of Natalina Zecca
Auxiliary Territorial Service, Royal Army, UK, WWII
Natalina Zecca, Auxiliary Territorial Service, Royal Army, UK, WWII My mother's name was Tina or sometimes Lina. Her maiden name was Natalina Zecca. She was born in Italy and came here with her parents apparently travelling from there to the UK during the latter part of the First World War. As a young adult she was kicked from pillar to post in South Wales, was kicked out of the house in Tonyrefail in the South Wales coal mining valleys and ended up in London. She went in to a Labour exchange looking for a job hoping to join the Land Army but was told "we only accept British Citizens" (my mother's identity card had a large red stamp on it reading Enemy Allien (Mussolini was part of the Axis powers and she was born in Italy) whereupon she saw a poster asking for volunteers to join the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service). She asked the person dealing with her if she could join it and was tersely told "I don't see why not, they take Germans!!!" In fact these Germans were dispossessed German Jews - so sad. Anyhow the ATS did take her.
My mother was stationed near Bury St, Edmunds on the UK East coast. My mother didn't know the name of the base she was posted to but told us she'd often go into the town of Bury St Edmunds. The Women's Territorial Service's jobs were many and varied. She worked in the canteen serving and clearing dishes, they used to call the dishwashing machine "the clipper". My mother worked in the dining hall and she loved telling me about the dances she'd go to, she was quite a looker and would say she had to fight them off! That's how she came to meet Wing Ding. She'd often tell me stories of the social life she and her ATS friends enjoyed. She'd talk about doing the jive with the Americans and would frequently mention an American airman with whom she used to dance whose nick name was Wing Ding and who was a tail gunner on B17s. I think she might have been carrying a candle for "Wing Ding" she'd often talk about him.
My mother passed away in 1998 and there ended the the stories until the other day when, discussing family history with my wife, she said "why not google Wing Ding", I did and came across Colonel E Carson (whose story is in this work) based in the same area who was a tail gunner. Too much coincidence? I doubt it. Now, before anyone might think there are paternity issues here, forget it, I was born in 1953!
She also made a lifelong friend of one of the Jewish ATS members who, after the war, moved to the US and opened what we call here Garden Centres, over on the West coast of America near Seattle called Holden's Nursery.
Any information about his company, camp or service would be appreciated.
Natalina Zecca
ATS group photograph, my mother is in the top row second from the left.
----- Richard Newman
Email: richard31 AT btinternet.com
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