Mary Isitt, 91, remembers her days as a Corporal in the Auxiliary Territorial Service attached to the 1st Monmouthshire Regiment and shares her stories with Carys Thomas of the Second World War and growing up in Maindee.

"We had happy times despite the war - it was the first time any of us were away from home really. I was 17 at the time not even 17 and a half.

Poor mam she didn't want me to go. She said she never thought she'd see the day when a daughter of hers would be in uniform.

My sister Joyce and I went to the corner exchange in Newport where a sergeant was recruiting for the Auxiliary Territorial Service. I signed up and that was that.

I was working as an office clerk for the South Wales Electricity Board, I slid the window open and there she was- Mrs Hall in her three stripes. She said I'd been called up and had to go now. I had to get my boss' permission and go home and ask my mother and off I went to the docks in Cardiff.

We were first stationed at Tredegar House in the winter of 39' above the stables. There was the 1st Monmouthshire regiment and others regiments based there.

Lord Tredegar at that time kept exotic animals, parrots and mokeys and things like that. The monkeys used to imitate us brushing our teeth - they used to watch us through the window.

I was in the ATS for four years from 39 until 43. On 15th of February 1940, I was stationed at Stanley Hall near Stroud in Gloucestershire.

It was a big house - there was a cottage nearby which had the only telephone. Two of us had to go to the cottage and use this old lady's phone.

One of us was on the phone and the other had to run back to the hall to deliver the message.

I was friendly with a fusilier called Fred, he was my first love. He was too young to go abroad so he was posted with our regiment.

It was the first time any of us were away from home. We had some fun.

Miriam Blow, from Abersychan, played a trick on the officers. She sowed the bottom's of their pyjamas shut. One of the captain's cut the bottom - he couldn't be bothered to undo the stitch.

We had happy times there. They got Anne Rhodes shoes and filed them with water. They even put a turnip in her bed.

We did general office duties while we were there. It was most secret messages- we had to type and give them to the rider to be delivered.

One time a dispatch rider lost all the messages - we had to type it all up again.

We then moved to a big house outside of Bath in Avondale. It was owned by Mrs and Mr North - they were animal lovers and they had a big red setter dog called Rusty.

Their cat had six kittens and they gave one to me - I took it home on the train. She was sat in a box on the rack - every time she miaowed everyone would look around see where it was coming from.

I brought Fluffy home and put a big beautiful blue bow on her. The war was still on and my brother had built a shelter out the back garden.

Air raids were few but the cat used to come into the shelter with us. She developed a taste for cucumber, say fluffy cue cue cue and she would come bounding along.

I was then stationed at Bincleaves Barracks in Weymouth in 1942 at The Rodwell Hotel, a big fancy hotel along the sea front. There were slit trenches there.

I had my own room here because I was a corporal now. Raids were more frequent here as we were right next to the channel.

We weren't issued with steal helmets yet so some foreign pioneer corps home guards came across and gave us their helmets. In an act of chivalry - I' remembered that very clear- it was very sweet of them.

They were Polish and Czech I think.

My brothers and sisters were still quite young at the time. My brother wanted a peter pan and Wendy book so I ordered one - I had to help look for it in the rubble as the smiths had been hit.

I managed to give it to my brother and when he died I had it. Its on the shelf in the other room.

I was one of nine children of Eva and Benjamin Isitt - seven girls and two boys. We were all delivered in the house by Nurse Jones in Llanwern Street in Maindee.

My father was a very talented artist. He painted that photo up on the wall in 1918.

He was employed as an accountant. In 1926 there were strikes and recessions much like there is now.

He couldn't do what he'd planned for his daughters. He was at St Cadocs with I suppose it would be depression nowadays.

We were just children, four maybe five. If he was alive now they would be able to give him some pills and that would be it.

My mother visited him every week - she could play the piano and that's how she kept us going with music lessons. She played at dinners - even sang at the mayor's dinner.

That's what my dad feel in love with - her voice. She was in a band and used to play all over.

I used to help her get ready, I've got your jewels mam. It was a very hard life with no money -and no benefits like we have now.

I have two medals from my time in the army and my brothers navy medal, Benjamin Ralph Isett but we called him Ralph. He joined the navy but was lost at sea over the Atlantic.

I'm 91, I have my routine with my morning crossword. I'm looking through my old films of holiday's from the 1950s hopping to find some footage of when I went with my american cousin behind the iron curtain.

She wanted to see Czech Slovakia, Vienna and Munich. Soldiers were everywhere.

You know what american's are like - nosy things."

Miss Isitt is looking for anyone who may have been stationed at Tredegar house with the 1st Monmouthshire Regiment during WWII to get in contact with her on 01633 265088.