Female staff

Women from all three Services worked at the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Unit: from the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and Women's Royal Naval Service. They had a special pass to come into the camp. The women who were selected had to speak fluent German, either from University or because they were German-Jewish refugees who had fled Hitler's persecution, and to be able to perform clerical duties that included typing up transcripts of the prisoners' conversations, translation work, and typing up intelligence reports. A handful of women from the Air Force worked as interrogators. Most of the women did not know about the existence of the special M Room with its secret listening equipment. They carried out their typing duties and never asked questions about where the material had come from. This was an important part of keeping this unit secret from the outside world. When they joined, the women signed the Official Secrets' Act and were not allowed to speak to anyone about their work.