Minnie Bailey: I'd never had new clothes before I joined the Air Force

Minnie Bailey came from very humble beginnings. As a child she’d be sent out to play for the day with a snack and a fizzy drink her mother had made from nettles. She had no watch and would go home again when she was hungry. She was bright but her parents couldn’t afford to keep her at school so she went into domestic service and one day ran an errand which changed her life. Minnie got herself a uniform. It was the first time she’d ever had new clothes.

She became a cook for Bomber Command and would prepare meals for the pilots and crews flying night-time missions. There would often be empty tables for breakfast when planes were lost.