When I went back to Malta in 1956 I formed a skiffle group . Elvis was in the charts and it was a time when anyone who could strum a guitar , sing after a fashion or just act the goat had a go . I played a double bass made out of a tea chest and a broom handle . We called ourselves “ The Screwballs ” and did halfhour slots on Maltese radio . There was the Manoel Island Theatre with lots of visiting entertainers for the fleet . We ’ d opened the show for people like Max Bygraves .
Somehow the London Evening News heard about us and we came second in their sponsored talent show . Being a sharp-eyed lady my mum saw the news report back home . She couldn ’ t believe it . We suddenly sprang to fame and played all kinds of venues . It was an amazing two years . The problem was being in the Navy we were eventually posted to different places and had to split up .
I left the Navy in 1961 . There was a lot of excitement about computers at the time so I joined the world of data processing . Each computer was the size of a filing cabinet with less power than a mobile phone has today . They were used to do mundane clerical tasks but were cumbersome and time-consuming in those early days . We ran a payroll package for 1,200 employees that started on Friday lunchtime and ran all weekend to calculate and print the payroll . One like that , with a stock control package too , could cost about £ 250,000 . I don ’ t know what that is in today ’ s money .
My main field of expertise was the defence industry ; black boxes for aircraft , ships and submarines and very early forms of PCs encased in lead to prevent external interference .
I got on the Parliamentary IT Committee and was in the House of Commons the day Margaret Thatcher lost her seat . It was a strange and heart-breaking moment . We were in a committee with Geoffrey Pattie MP when another MP poked his head round the door , I can ’ t remember who it was , and just said “ She ’ s gone .” There was absolute hush . There were quite a few MPs in the room with us . We sat there and it was as if someone had fainted before us . The meeting was immediately closed and we went into the lobby . MPs were just standing there and it was like a funeral parlour . I think Geoffrey Howe was there , other members of the Cabinet and of course the reporters . It was horrible . I was sort of thinking what a historic time it was , then ‘ What next ?’ It felt like the building had folded in on itself and then you suddenly realised what we had lost .
I retired from computers , but that hasn ’ t stopped me working . I ’ ve been clerk on parish councils and primary schools . Then I did a BA Degree with the Open University . It took seven years and I graduated in 1987 . It was very enjoyable , very different to anything I ’ d ever done . Now I ’ m a Senior Invigilator for the OU .
For a few years I gave lectures to various societies too . My subjects are the Maya , the Aztec , Herculaneum , Roman Britain and submarines . The last one is from my time in the navy but the rest are all from my other passion which is archaeology . I was in Pompeii in 1948 three years after Vesuvius erupted . There was nobody on site and you could just walk around . I ’ m going back next year , but I had the advantage of seeing these places before there were a million people there .
I ’ m a member of the University of Oxford ’ s archaeological society so I still go on site visits . Some are harder to get to than others , but you have to keep active .
The job at Mayo Wynne Baxter is all part of keeping active and interested . My wife and I moved to Eastbourne 15 years ago and I applied to be the librarian . I ’ d done something similar for another law firm in Maidstone and enjoyed it so when I got to Eastbourne I sent letters to every solicitor in the Yellow Pages . Mostly I update legal volumes , which have to change whenever laws change . So much is done on the internet now , but I have to make sure the hard copies match the electronic resources . The update scenario is reduced somewhat but it ’ s still a question of monitoring what we have in the building . I do one day a week now . It ’ s a really lovely firm and I enjoy the people . I enjoy the work and I ’ m treated with respect .
In many respects I ’ d like to carry on what I ’ m doing . I just wish I was a lot younger . The biggest problem is that it ’ s difficult to get things like travel insurance . When you ’ re young enough to travel you have work commitments . Then when you ’ re old enough it ’ s too expensive . So I think I ’ ll just keep up the OU stuff , the librarian bit and visit a few more digs .
If I could go anywhere it ’ d be the South American jungle , real Mayan country . I ’ ve done a bit of research there , but not as much as I ’ d like . It ’ s very tough country with lots of bugs and snakes . Or I ’ d like to visit somewhere in the Middle East like Leptis Magna or Sabratha . Of course places like Tripoli are difficult now , but I could go back to Malta where I played hockey with his lordship [ Prince Philip ] all those years ago . He was a good man . He used to come haring down the slopes of the jetty in Malta in his sports car and you had to dive into the water because he didn ’ t stop , but what a fantastic hockey player . I had the bruises to prove it .”
Interviewed by Vicky Welstead 19