In 1938 Joan won a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), but the impending war forced RADA to close for the duration. The 17-year-old Wyndham soon volunteered to train as a nurse and in 1941 she joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). During the war she was posted to: Preston (RAF Barton Hall), Stanmore (RAF Bentley Priory), Inverness (RAF Inverness) and Watnall (RAF Watnall). She made trips to London where she got to know Dylan Thomas, Julian MacLaren-Ross, M.J. Tambimuttu and other such bohemians.