THE HARSH reality of war is not lost on 87-year-old Lance Corporal Katherine Du Plat-Taylor.

She knows all about the sacrifices that were made during the Second World War, but she also manages to share a joke or two when recalling her time in the WAAF (Womens Auxillary Air Force).

She was at Dover Castle between 1944 and 1945 in Dumpy – the most secret of the underground tunnels – in the Air Sea Rescue section of the RAF.

"I used to get away with murder," she told me. "I even wore nail varnish sometimes.

"When my shelter at Northfore Meadow was shelled during an attack, the only important things I wanted to take with me were my silk underwear and make-up – ladies' things.

"I was fairly lucky that my shelter had just been blasted, it wasn't completely destroyed like some of the other shelters."

Katherine was aged just 18 when she was at the Castle, and would often work 48-hour shifts, which she described as "stressful but exhilarating and rewarding".

She added: "The youth of today have no idea what it was like for people their age back in my day.

"But I loved my job, I really felt as though I was contributing to the war effort. It wasn't easy, but in true British style, we battled through any problems."

Katherine worked in the operations room, which she described as a hive of activity but also very secretive.

"We were basically on the front line in Dover. London was much safer so that's where I used to go on my days off.

"Although it was hard reaching London with all the army checkpoints around Dover, I smuggled myself out in an ambulance once."

I interviewed Katherine as she was sitting in her mobility scooter, but her courage and wartime grit was evident as she got out of her chair with two walking sticks just to go and have her photo taken by Andy.

Then, as we made our way outside, she pointed out to sea and told me that, if she saw a flash of light from the other side of the Channel, a shell would be landing in Dover in only four seconds' time.

She said: "We would have to run for our lives – there was no messing around. Failing that, we would just lie down on the grass and cover ourselves with our blankets, hoping the shell wouldn't land near us."

Katherine left me with a final poignant thought when she said: "We lost a lot of fantastic young men and women out there.

"They fought for the freedom of our country, and sacrificed so much for us.

"The Government today seems to go to war too easily, seeing it as a quick solution, when in reality it is nothing like that at all."

The new tours of Dover Castle will be led by English Heritage experts Kirsty Smith and Rowena Willard-Wright. The exclusive tour is available on March 30 between 1 and 4pm and costs £25 per person, £20 if you are an English Heritage member.

For further information, or to make a booking for the tour, call English Heritage Customer Services on 0870 333 1181.