coats and pull up their collars. Diana trembled with a sense of excitement and a little apprehension. It was one thing to learn about it; another to deal with the sheer size of the balloon and to control it in the wind. The three of them took hold of the wires attached to the port side as Kathy started to call out instructions. Methodically, Mavis began to crank the winch that unwound the balloon. As she grasped hold, Diana noted again how the wires were brittle and sharp, and with no gloves and the weight of the balloon being buffered in the wind it took all of her strength not to have the cables slip across her palms and cut her hands. As the tallest, Diana stood in front and the two other girls took hold of the wires behind her to anchor her. As they eased away the ballast weighing it down, the balloon started to climb and tugged hard on the wires, wanting to take off, forcing them to dig their heels into the wet grass to keep their balance. As they fought to control it, the wind whistled past their ears and it took all of their concentration to hear Kathy’s instructions through the megaphone.
‘Hard to port,’ she screamed, her Liverpudlian accent more pronounced than ever as a strong gust practically pulled all six of them on that side off their feet and dragged the balloon into the other direction. Diana tugged on the line with all her might, hearing Jean swear behind her and feeling Maisie’s breath coming in hard sharp spurts into the back of her neck. They then pulled back so hard the balloon careered in the opposite direction, and the girls on the other side mirrored their performance with many shrieks and gasps of frustration.
It took them the best part of the morning, by which point coats and jumpers were thrown off in untidy piles. But finally, they started to get the hang of it, finding they were able to anticipate the movement of the balloon and compensate before it got out of hand.
Every time Bertha reached her desired height in the air, they would all cheer, but the minute a strong wind shifted around her fins, it took all twelve of them to keep her in position.
‘Steady as she goes,’ Sergeant Daly would shout as Diana’s team of three continued to be lifted off their feet whenever they struggled with a particularly violent gust.
‘You’d think they would have given us more to eat, make us a bit heavier,’ joked Jean from behind her after being knocked to the floor for the third time.
‘I’m definitely putting lead in my knickers tomorrow,’ Maisie joked back, as they all laughed and she helped Jean to her feet.
They continued to raise and lower the balloon every day until they could anticipate every movement of the balloon and also of each other.
Daly didn’t let up on them, though, having them out in all weathers any time of the day and night. He particularly liked it when it was raining or windy, knowing that would challenge the team and give them a taste of what it could be like to be under attack. He would flick on the lights in their barracks at three in the morning, shouting, ‘Wakey, wakey, it’s lovely and muddy out there, pouring down and blowing a gale. Perfect night to go on a picnic.’ This was his way of telling them Bertha would be flying. It could get quite harrowing in the dark and rain.
One night, Daly called them out to duty in the middle of what was a particularly stormy evening with driving rain. Soaked to the skin before they even reached the balloon, their boots slipped and slid around in the mud as they attempted to get their footing. As Diana raised her head to look up at the balloon the rain poured down her face and neck, and into her ears and eyes, blinding her. The wind whipped around them, building into gusts which caused the sandbags and ballast blocks to fly around their heads. It was harrowing and Diana had to keep ducking and calling out to stop other members of her team from being hit, and it took all their energy, effort and concentration, to fly the balloon and also to keep themselves safe. As Diana trudged back inside filthy, aching and exhausted three hours later, she knew they were ready. If they could survive a night like