I was stationed at RCAF Station Clinton when I received word of my transfer to Grostenquin. I was an LAW, working in Clerk Accounts at the time, and from what I can recall, almost every Airwoman in Clinton had submitted an application to go to 2 Wing with the "first draft".
We sailed from Halifax in March 1953 on the RMS Ascania. I recall that there was some sort of a session in Montreal (probably at Dorval) where a Public Relations session was held. Interviews were carried out with the understanding that home town newspapers would be brought into the picture in this regard. A similiar session took place on the ship immediately prior to departure from Halifax. The food was good and there were the usual "cruise ship" events that took place. The crossing from Halifax to Le Havre took six days and we then proceeded to Paris by train. I recall that our entire group was held in Paris for a couple of days and we were "wined and dined" to the civilian population by RCAF personnel of 1 Air Division Headquarters which was still located in Paris at the time. These 1 Air Division personnel were eventually relocated to Metz later in 1953. We did have a fair amount of free time while we were in Paris - but this was mostly in the evenings. We subsequently took a train from Paris to Faulquemont, and then a bus from Faulquemont to the airfield at Grostenquin.
There were 47 Airwomen in the first draft to arrive at Grostenquin on 12 March of 1953. I believe the draft was to have totalled 50 gals, but we must have lost two somewhere along the way. We arrived at 2 Wing in the evening so there was nothing accomplished aside from checking into the barracks and unpacking our personal effects on our arrival day at Grostenquin. There were two girls to each room. Rooms were, of course, all in an "H" hut. Each room had a bed, a sort of "box" which passed as a bedside table and of course our kit box and a closet for hanging clothes. There was a briefing the next day with the normal "do this and don't do that". I recall that there was a sort of caution issued that perhaps slacks should not be worn off the station however that was soon relaxed or not followed. The food in the Combined Mess was good and most of the creature comforts were in place when we arrived in Grostenquin. It was two or three months before the Airwomen's Lounge was in operation. It consisted of a dry canteen and was not large enough to hold dances therein. There was a sofa or two and some tables for card playing or socializing or whatever. It was situated at one end of the "H" in our barracks. As far as I recall, people like Airmen didn't just wander in and out - they had to be "invited" or "sponsored" by an Airwoman but that would have been normal routine such as was the practice on Canadian Stations.
All of the Airwomen in the first draft were well kitted on arrival at 2 Wing as their previous stations had ensured that they should not need anything major in the area of military clothing for some time. I was employed in the Wing Accounts Section as a Ledger Clerk during my tour at Grostenquin.
Marriage amongst the Airwomen was not unusual and it didn't take more than six or seven months before the first Airwoman at 2 Wing was married. I met my future husband, Keith Roberts, in 2 Wing and we were married on 12 February 1955. I am guessing that there would have been between seven and ten Airwomen from the first draft that would have been married by the time I said "I Do" in February of 1955. I was eventually discharged from the RCAF at 2 Wing in November 1955 because I was seven months pregnant. Previous to this point in time, once an Airwoman was married she had to take a discharge but with some possible collusion between the Senior Accounts Officer and the Senior Medical Officer, it seems that my records were misplaced so that I remained in the RCAF not only after I was married but well into my pregnancy. I lost my first child who is buried in a cemetary in the city of Zweibruken.
There did not appear to be any problem replacing the girls that married and were released from the RCAF as there apparently were lots of Airwomen eager to go overseas and there was just the usual lag of a month or so while the incoming replacement took her embarkation leave prior to travelling to France.
A few of the single Airmen had cars or scooters. In the early days an RCAF bus often made "runs" through local communities at various times of the day and night so transportation was never a problem. While there were some of us that frequented the local pubs and restaurants, many of us just stayed on the station. I have memories of our pay being in American Military Scrip (you have covered this in the Miscellaneous Section of the web site) and the times when scrip was changed in the dark of night so to speak. The opportunities to travel to Great Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Denmark and Luxemburg were all taken advantage of.
We departed from France for Canada in September, 1956 aboard the SS Homeric. The cabin person was very concerned because of my pregnancy however I was healthy as a horse and my husband was sick as a dog the whole trip. We eventually landed in Quebec City.
I have a good number of memories many of which have faded just a bit. The friendships made were special and a few have remained after almost 50 years.
Other Airwomen in the first draft were: Vera Montgomery (now Hall) - who worked in Supply, Margaret Kennedy (now Casey) - who worked in Wing Accounts, and Flo Kerr (now Brewer).