Stories of the War - The Henderson Family

1. WREN Radio Operator
My Grandmother was a WREN and served from 1939-43. She trained on HMS Brittania as a wireless operator. Initially based in Dundee but then moved to other locations (but not sure where) spoke about listening to submarine transmissions - we don't know if they were British or Germans. She only spoke once about it. She was invalided out in 1943 with TB. She survived the war and I met her. She died when I was about 10. She didn't ever share any stories because she was conscious that the work she did was secret.

2. Victoria Cross for Submarine Commander of HMS Upholder
My cousin (on my Mother's side) was Lieutenant Commander Wanklyn - my Grandmother's cousin. He was the commander of HMS Upholder operating from Malta in 1942. He sank more Italian shipping than anyone else during the war. He was awarded the Victoria Cross in April 1942. His submarine was on patrol and hit a mine - he was lost (not sure when).

3. Hitlers Diaries
Hugh Trevor Roper was in British Intelligence and was sent to Berlin in 1945 to verify Hitler's death. I don't have much information about his work during the war. He was the cousin of my grandmother. He didn't have a medical background, he was sent to Berlin to interrogate and analyse evidence. He wrote The Last Days of Hitler. The story after the war is more interesting. He was a Professor of History at Oxford University and verified and vouched for the Hitler Diaries when they were published. When they were revealed to be fake, his reputation was tarnished.

4. Desert Rats Casualty
My grandfather (Wallace Stewart McKay) joined the Territorial 3rd County of London Sharpshooters in 1938. Served in tanks in the UK until 1941. He then went out to the Western Desert with the Desert Rats. He was seriously injured on 12 December 1941 when his tank was hit. Wallace lost an eye and part of his face. His crew were killed outright.
Wallace had a lengthy trip back to the UK via Rhodesia, South Africa, and New York - and underwent many operations and eventually returned to service in the War Office with a friend. He was working as a Letter Censor. He didn't enjoy that very much, having served in the army and knowing that troops were writing back to loved ones, he didn't like having to censor them. He had a friend on a different floor in the War Office, they would send each other notes sharing dirty jokes or asking what they thought of this secretary. He never talked about the war after.