Ellen Jupp

My mother (Ellen Marion Emily Jupp - maiden name) at the age of 21 was working at the Portsmouth telephone exchange in Commercial road opposite the train station. We were talking about her early life and she recounted a story that she remebered working on the telphone switchboard at the time the Affay went missing. She vividly remembers finding the time very stressful as for 7 to 14 days after the ship went missing because of the volume of calls that she had to deal with. She was not allowed to listen to the calls but the very volume of them left her very stressed. This backs up statements that the missing sub knocked the Suez crisis off the front page news. 
 
During that time a pregnant wife of one of the missing Royal Marine crew onboard the Affray (there were three RM's as you know) was brought into the telephone exchange by a Padre (Naval or RM ?) and was given employment there for some months to help keep her mind engaged. My mother believes that she had twin boys but unfortunately she cannot remember her name.
  
 
Steve Courtney

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