Reproduced with the kind permission of the Jamaica Observer newspaper.
The article first appeared in that papers September 19, 1999 edition.

Memories of War (cont’d)

Leslie Hines (cont’d)

"You always had to remember that your enemies were looking out for you."

Hines was then put in charge of the wireless telegraph room.

"When 1 was promoted, I was in charge of that room until I left there. This was the Morse slip reading room (MRA). It was very big and received signals from all over the world. There were a lot of things coming in as coded signals. The operators had to go to the chief for him, to decode them."

Hines recalled his experience on his way out of his station one day.

"I was heading from one station to another when I was greeted with a flying bomb coming from Germany."

"Germany made hundreds of them, … when they could not withstand the pressure they stopped sending their pilots and started sending these automatic things.

"I recall that I was coming out of a station and then I heard the siren go off and the message ‘head for a shelter’. I turned back and headed to an underground shelter. A building very close by was hit and many people got injured.

"You could get killed anywhere. Because there were always German planes hovering overhead. But I did not want to be killed in this way. I would have preferred to be killed in actual combat. Not just standing…"

Hines shook his head at the recollection: "Can you imagine looking into the skies and all you can see is aeroplanes? Enemies at that!"

Hines returned to Jamaica in 1948. He maintains that the returns for his service were good. In fact, it was his service that landed him a wife, with whom he is presently celebrating 49 years of marriage. The marriage has also borne eight children.

Hines is presently serving as president of the board for the Palisadoes Credit Union.