Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Daughter of Alexander MORRISON, 140 Dewhurst Street, Werris Creek, New South Wales.

Shirley is a veteran of the Second World War. Before enlisting, she worked as a cashier, then as a typist at David Tyler Pty Ltd in Werris Creek. In August 1944, Shirley joined the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF). After her recruit training, Shirley was sent to the Signal School at Point Cook, Victoria, where she underwent cypher training. She was then posted to the Royal Australian Air Force’s Headquarters Eastern Area as a cypher assistant, responsible for encoding and decoding messages. The headquarters was at Point Piper, Sydney, where Shirley was billeted in a big mansion with beautiful views of the harbour.

Shirley says her work was very secretive, ‘You had to take a vow of secrecy for anything that you saw’. She was on duty when the signal came through that the war had ended and recalls, ‘That was very exciting.’

In September 1945, Shirley was posted to RAAF Base Tocumwal in the Riverina region of NSW. Tocumwal was the site of a large military airfield. Shirley was discharged from the WAAAF in February 1946. She says the best thing about her service was the lifelong friends she made.
After the war, Shirley held down a few jobs, mostly working in the mail order departments of large stores in Sydney. It was at this time, around her 21st birthday, that she met her future husband William ‘Bill’ Johnston Adams, who had served in the Australian Army during the war as a trooper in the 2/5th and 2/8th Commando Squadrons. The couple married, but Bill tragically died from cancer 14 months later. Their son, Leigh, never knew his father, and sadly he has also passed away. Shirley now has 2 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

Shirley used to enjoy knitting, sewing, calligraphy, golf and volunteering for her local church. She was still knitting squares for charities until a few years ago. Now, Shirley watches TV and likes going out to lunch with her family.

When Shirley’s granddaughter Cathy asked her the secret to her long life, she said ‘I continue to breath’, and then giggled. Cathy asked her if not drinking or smoking and regular exercise had anything to do with it. Shirley laughed and said ‘probably’.