Polly Purdo. (Faction)

(One of the hardest things for Polly was that she was about to be married – She was not allowed to contact her boyfriend.)

Polly wanted more than anything to contact her mother and father and her younger brother but she knew this couldn’t be. There was no contact allowed with anyone outside. She had no one to blame but herself of course – the future consequences of her actions had been clearly explained. She did have a small room to herself but it was very poorly furnished and shabby, clearly she was not going to have any comforts here. One of the hardest things for Polly was that she was about to be married, but her explanations had not been well received. She thought she was doing the correct thing, being totally honest about the unknown time that she could be away, but from here she was not even allowed to contact her boyfriend.

There was recreation time each day, everyone here was expected to keep physically fit. The ‘Correction centre number one’ as it was called, was isolated and surrounded by woodland. There was a three mile cross country running track and a large outdoor exercise area with various equipment. Polly had been very athletic having been in hockey and netball teams before finding herself here, so she had no trouble with her fitness and looked forward to this time each day. She couldn’t help noticing that others were not so lucky, clearly suffering terribly from the exercise regime. There was no sympathy shown to the less fit – the standard had to be reached. There was a short period each day when socialising, at it was referred to, was allowed – but strict rules applied – no discussing anything about the place, the reason why each person was here, or where they came from. The consequences of breaking rules was severe and monitoring was tight.

Most of the day was spent in the instruction rooms. Polly was very bright, she had a good degree and although finding things difficult, was just about hanging on. The fact that she spoke fluent French and German appeared to be of no consequence. The instruction or education as she preferred to call it was intense. These sessions only involve one person at a time, so there was no distraction. It was fully expected that when people left here they would be able to cope with what the world threw at them – and hopefully be able to survive and indeed help others in trouble. Polly had been told to expect to be here for six weeks, that was considered to be sufficient time for her.

The staff were kind and wished Polly well as she left ‘Correction centre number one.’ She was transported in the back of a blacked out car, clearly not intended to identify any of the area where she had been, or indeed the area where she was being transported to. Polly was blindfolded until she was airborne. About fifty minutes later she stood in the open doorway of the Halifax aircraft, when she felt the hand tapping her on the right shoulder she jumped…

Polly Purdo was one of many who never made it back to England…

(I was going to add some explanation, but I honestly don’t think it will be necessary.)