Lorna Arnold - World War II, Berlin and Bizonia

World War II, Berlin and Bizonia

In 1940, Lorna was recruited to work in the government war effort. She first served in the War Office, working as part of Army Council Secretariat. There she took on increasing responsibilities, many related to supply and logistics for the war effort. During this time, she lived in London, and like many Londoners, experienced the hazards of the German air raids on London.

In 1944, she transferred to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as their first woman diplomat and worked on the European Advisory Commission (EAC), making arrangements for the postwar administration of Germany. In August 1945, Lorna posted to Berlin as part of the Allied Control Council, a hazardous undertaking just after the fall of Germany. She reports that for a time, she slept with a pistol under her pillow.

After World War II, Germany was divided into four zones, managed by the British, American, French and Russians. (See Allied-occupied Germany for more details.) Berlin was also divided into four zones, and Lorna worked with her counterparts from France, the US and Russia to coordinate administering the districts and supplying foods to the population. Britain had very limited resources at the end of World War II, and in 1946, Britain and the US agreed to administer their districts jointly, under a scheme called Bizonia.

In 1946, Lorna transferred to British Embassy in Washington, D.C., and worked with Americans to administer Bizonia. During her time in Washington, she had a desk at the Pentagon. She served in Washington at the same time as noted spy Donald Maclean. In 1949, she returned to England.