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Tenby: The remarkable life of WW2 teleprinter operator who helped win the war

Published

5 years ago

June 28, 2019

A 99-YEAR-OLD care home resident who regularly saw Winston Churchill during her top secret work at an intelligence base in the Second World War has revealed her unique role in history for the first time.

Grandmother-of-six Dorothea ‘Lilian’ Raymant, who lives at Woodland Lodge Care Home in Gumfreston, Tenby, was recruited as a teleprinter operator with the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in 1940.

She spent four years sending encoded messages from the secret allied intelligence base at RAF Medmenham at Danesfield House in Buckinghamshire.

Alongside Bletchley Park, RAF Medmenham played a pivotal role in the war effort, housing a pioneering team of scientists, academics and inventors who together developed the then relatively new science of interpreting aerial photographs.

The information gleaned from the photographs, taken by courageous reconnaissance pilots across occupied Europe, was passed on in code to strategic departments and bases by specially-trained teleprinter operators.

Details of Lilian’s remarkable life are being revealed for the first time as part of this summer’s commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Landings and the Battle of Normandy.

Former teleprinter operator Dorothea ‘Lilian’ Raymant with grandson Andrew

“I was a just a small cog in a big team and everyone did their bit,” said Lilian, who has released some personal photographs for usmarking her extraordinary life.

“We were targeting a common enemy. There were so many officers based there that the WAAFs were told not to bother saluting or they would have their hand permanently glued to their heads. It felt very democratic with so many people of rank in the one place.

“At the time, we didn’t realise the impact of what we were doing. Everything was managed in great secrecy. We certainly didn’t know the scale of D-Day.”

Her special role in history has now been praised by Mario Kreft MBE, the Chair of care industry champions Care Forum Wales.

“The work of Lilian and the wider team at RAF Medmenham is extraordinary and helped bring an end to the war. We all have so much to be grateful for,” he said

“I am delighted her special role in history can be finally revealed as the nation marks this important anniversary.”

Born in 1920 in Pembroke Dock, Lilian was the youngest of seven children and the daughter of Owen Hire, a well-respected former Mayor of Pembroke and Pembroke Dock. Her uncle John Hire was the captain of a large sailing ship who saved the crew of a Norwegian vessel in a storm and was later rewarded for his heroics by the King of Sweden and Norway, while her grandfather William Jones was a decorated war hero who fought in the Crimean War.

She spent her early childhood growing up on the family farm before taking on clerical work in Pembroke Dockyard. Later, she joined the WAAF to train as a teleprinter operator.

The work carried out at RAF Medmenham is considered as significant as that of Bletchley Park.

It is estimated that 80 per cent of all intelligence in the war originated from aerial photography and the team, which regularly welcomed Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Britain’s highest-ranking army officer, General Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, was at one stage producing up to seven million prints a month and was the centre for photographic reconnaissance and preparations for D-Day.

Among many triumphs, the centre led the identification by Lady Babington Smith, who Lilian knew at the time, of the V1 ‘Doodlebug’ launch site at Peenemunde and the discovery of Hitler’s V-weapons rocket programme.

“Although no one knew initially what they were, we were later told that the rocket launch sites were quickly highlighted as a target by the aerial photographic reconnaissance team because it was evident the Germans had gone to a lot of effort in their construction,” explained Lilian.

The team also studied enemy movement of ships and trains, factories, shipyards and advised targets to the Allied bombers as well as assessed damage and whether sites needed to be bombed again.

RAF Medmenham was involved in almost every operation in the war, producing aerial photographs that were translated into models of the channel coast and providing detailed information on beach gradients, tide levels, currents, typical waves and beach exits in the case of D-Day.

In addition it advised the locations of the Atlantic Wall German gun emplacements, pill boxes, wire entanglements, trench systems and every radar installation to a distance of 20 miles inland was noted.

Lilian was stationed alongside Churchill’s daughter, Sarah, a photographic interpreter, and has fond memories chattering with her on the beds in their barracks.

“Sarah would be clattering about in wooden clogs to protect her feet against the corrosive photographic developing chemicals,” remembered Lilian, who met Churchill’s daughter again many years later at a public event.

“You’d often see the Prime Minister arriving in his car although I never spoke to him.”

Lilian and the other girls would sometimes shin down the drainpipes at night to go off to the dances.

“It was all good clean fun” says Lilian, although after one such foray she was chased by the police for not having lights on her bicycle, and was put on ‘Jankers’ as punishment.

Sometimes they would dance with the American Airborne troops based at nearby White Waltham.

Her son, Andrew, who lives in Norfolk, a management consultant for logistics and supply chains, said: “I always thought as a young man my father had the more interesting war as he completed two tours of duty, one of the Eastern Mediterranean targeting Italian and German convoys and one as part of the Coastal Command at Pembroke Dock. But as more information came out about Bletchley and people talked about RAF Medmenham it became clear mum had been at the centre of some very interesting history indeed.

“Mum never really talked about it growing up. She had also signed the Official Secrets Act. She always felt the real heroes were the ones on the battle field who never came back.

“It was a time of great trauma for them. They didn’t really have a clear picture of what was going on but sometimes the results of the bombings would be fed through.

“When the aerial photos came back from D-Day, they saw lots of little black dots in the water which of course were the bodies of those who didn’t come back from the beaches.

“It would’ve been very difficult to see it as just an administrative job although it is only later on that they would’ve understood the reality of what had happened.”

Later in the war, in 1945, Lilian was posted back to Pembroke Dock and the RAF Coastal Command Station in the dockyard. During WW2, Pembroke Dock became the world’s largest flying boat station and it was here Lilian met her future husband, Frank ‘Ray’ Raymant, who was taking part in Sunderland Flying Boat search and destroy missions against the U Boat threat, both during the battle of the Atlantic and the build up to D-Day.

The couple went on to have three sons, Michael, 60, and Andrew, 56, and David, who sadly died in his teens, but not until Lilian had established a successful career in civilian communications.

Wedding photo with husband Ray

After the war, highly-trained Lilian was recruited by Dutch airline KLM and later food exporters AJ Mills & Sons.

“The whole family is very proud of mum and for who she is,” said Michael, who is head of Welsh Language Service for North Wales Police.

“She was around during a remarkable part of history. The grandchildren, Hefin, Branwen, Siwan, Meirion, Brychan and Heledd, are very proud of all her achievements then and also for what came afterwards.”

Olivia Etheridge, deputy manager of Woodland Lodge Care Home, described Lilian as a charming and “marvelously knowledgeable” lady.

“We all love to hear her stories about her life, from make-overs in Bond Street to befriending Winston Churchill’s daughter,” she added.

“Lilian is a kind, polite and glamourous lady who deserves recognition for all of the fantastic things she has done in the 99 years of her life.”

Community

Pembrokeshire second homes tax to fund vital local projects

Published

5 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

NEARLY £0.6m in grants has been awarded to 10 Pembrokeshire groups using money from the second homes council tax premium after it received the backing of senior councillors today, November 4.

At the November 4 meeting of the county council’s Cabinet, members considered ten applications for funding through the Enhancing Pembrokeshire Large Grant Applications.

In order to be considered for funding, applications are points-based, with one, Haverfordwest Tennis Club just missing out on the 20 points criteria by one point.

The Enhancing Pembrokeshire Grant, launched in 2018 supports local communities; funded via a portion of the charges raised through the second homes premium.

To date, Pembrokeshire County Council has awarded £4,482,374 to 272 projects attracting match funding of £4,948,984, investing a total of £9,431,358 into Pembrokeshire communities.

In July 2023, Cabinet agreed an officer led grant panel determine the outcome of applications below £15,000; those up to £100,000 coming to Cabinet.

The internal grant panel considered 10 applications, one criticised for arriving slightly late, of which nine met the grant criteria and required scoring threshold of 20 or above.

A report for members said there was an underspend last year of £274,326 rolled into this financial year’s allocation of £400,000; the nine projects for a total value of £766,434 requesting grant support of £560,032.31.

Fishguard and Goodwick Young Persons Project requested £77,106 for a £96,383 project to help young people aged 11-25 to raise self-esteem and improve their employability skills through activities/lifelong learning.

Arts Care Gofal Care Development requested £56,695 for a £70,868 project for an inclusive dance and performance programme for adults and children with learning disabilities.

Garth Youth and Community Project ‘You Matter’ wanted £73,069.60 for a £91,337 project enhancing peoples overall mental and physical wellbeing through sporting/games/food activities.

Transport group PACTO – whose application had arrived slightly late – wanted £39,991 for a £50,535 project to meet Welsh Government zero emission transport targets by 2035 by purchasing and managing a ‘Green Bus’ for Bloomfield Community Centre, Narberth; the centrepiece of a net-zero project in Pembrokeshire, promoting sustainable, accessible transport for those with mobility challenges and those with other barriers to conventional transport.

Acts West Wales Cilrath Acre sought £46,992 of £62,092 for a community growing project, which offers volunteer and learning opportunities, giving people the chance to grow food, learn new skills and meet others.

Fishguard Sea Cadets sought £50,000 of £70,000 to secure the land that adjoins its unit to provide safer, more organised outdoor training, and a secure storage area.

Pembroke Dock Cricket Club asked for £58,400 of £73,000 for new changing rooms, the current becoming beyond repair, and lacking adequate inclusive access.

PLANED Pembrokeshire Local Food Partnership (PLFP), a partnership between PLANED, PAVS and Pembrokeshire County Council that brings together producers/growers, organisations and communities, creating an active, sustainable food system for Pembrokeshire sought £57,779.17 for a £72,224 project.

The largest amount was from Kilgetty Begelly Community Council, asking £100,000 towards a £179,995 scheme to create a new play park to enhance the village and increase accessibility to the wider communities including the Kingsmoor Common Gypsy Traveller site.

One proposal, which failed the criteria by just one point, was Haverfordwest Tennis Club, seeking £31,208 in funding for a £39,207.72 scheme for floodlights and wheelchair access.

That proposal is currently subject to an ongoing planning application and the scheme would only benefit club members, the report says.

Following a plea by Deputy Leader Cllr Paul Miller, members agreed to include the tennis club application, subject to it gaining planning permission, and the applicants including a Welsh language policy.

Members backed all ten projects receive funding, for a total of just over £590,240.

Second homes in Pembrokeshire currently pay a 200 per cent council tax premium, which will be reduced to 150 per cent from the next financial year.

Community

Pembroke man born in prison after mum’s wrongful conviction battles aggressive cancer

Published

1 day ago

November 4, 2024

Sarah Jane Absalom

BETHAN CARTER-HEWINS has spoken to The Pembrokeshire Herald about the her husband’s Josh’s desperate fight to conquer a very rare and aggressive cancer.

She said: “Josh is my life. He’s my absolute everything and it’s awful to watch him suffer. He doesn’t deserve anything bad in this world as he has so much to live for.”

***Josh and Bethan Carter-Hewins in hospital (Pic: Supplied)***

Two weeks ago Josh, was told that the intense chemotherapy treatment he’d been receiving to treat his rare and aggressive Burkitt Lymphoma, had failed.

The 27-year-old, who was born in a prison in 1996 after his mother was wrongly convicted of arson, was told that his cancer had spread. As a result of its aggression, he was told that he isn’t eligible for further treatment.

“So essentially, Josh was sent home from hospital to die,” his wife, Beth, told The Pembrokeshire Herald.

“But Josh is the strongest person I know – his mind is so powerful and even when he’s physically down, he’s determined not to stop. Our fight is far from over.”

Josh has learnt to battle emotional hardship throughout his life after his mother, Annette Hewins, was jailed following her wrongful conviction for causing the death of a mother and two children in 1995. She was just three months pregnant with Joshua at the time of her arrest, and she gave birth to him while she was in custody.

Josh and his siblings were subsequently put into foster care and spent their childhood in the Crymych area and Carmarthenshire.

He moved to Pembroke after meeting Beth in secondary school, and in May, 2023, the couple were married in Pembroke Castle.

***Happier times: Josh and Bethan Carter-Hewins on their wedding day (Pic: Supplied)***

But Josh began feeling unwell two years earlier when he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, which is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. He later developed chronic liver disease and in 2023, he underwent a liver transplant.

“Everything seemed to be going well but when we were on holiday in Greece earlier this summer, he began feeling unwell again,” continues Beth.

“His symptoms were very similar to that of his ulcerative colitis with stomach pain, bloating and a general fatigue so initially, this is what we believed it was.”

But further analyses showed that Josh, who is employed as a CAD technician and account manager for the traffic light company, CORE highways, was suffering from the extremely rare post transplant lymphoma – Burkitt Lymphoma.

“Josh’s initial reaction was ‘Let’s get this done’, and he’s shown the most incredible strength right from the beginning.”

His intensive chemotherapy treatment began in June of this year.

“He was initially on EPOCH, which is a slow infusion that goes in over 24 hours five times a week, but quite early on it became apparent that it wasn’t working,” explains Beth. “So he had the choice of either sticking with it or moving onto another extremely intense chemo, called R-IVAC and R-CODOX-M.

“He chose the extreme chemo as he knew he’d be strong enough to cope, and he was.”

Josh was treated at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.

***Josh is raising funds for lifesaving treatment (Image: Supplied)***

“It was a horrific chemo and very toxic on the gut and the liver, which are both very sensitive areas for Josh as a result of his liver transplant and the ulcerative colitis. But he coped incredibly well and his gut and liver functioned near perfectly all the way through.”

But two weeks ago Josh was given a scan that showed his intensive chemotherapy had failed and his cancer was showing up in more places than before.

He was also told that the only option available to treat the cancer is CAR-T cell therapy.

“But unfortunately Josh isn’t eligible because his lymphoma is driven by being immunosuppressed,” said Beth. “He isn’t eligible for bone marrow transplants nor stem cell transplants because his disease isn’t under control and it’s too aggressive.

“But when we received this news, we knew that our fight was far from over.

“Josh wasn’t going to accept this, so he did his own extensive research and found a drug – Glofitamab – which has been used to treat a very small number of Burkitt’s lymphoma cases across Canada, Copenhagen, Sweden and the USA. And all those cases have gone into remission.”

Sold under the brand name Columvi, this bispecific monoclonal antibody is used for the treatment of large B-cell lymphoma.

“But it isn’t licensed for use on Burkitt’s lymphoma, which means that to treat Josh, it has to be given unlicensed. His consultant has reached out to the drug company to try and obtain physical data confirming its treatment of Burkitt’s and to try and build a case for the NHS to fund it. But the company didn’t have the data because all the cases had used the drug unlicensed, through private hospitals.

“We’re currently desperately trying to reach out to the NHS and the drug company, Roche, to ask them to grant the use of the drug on compassionate grounds. This has been done before, although it’s very rare.

“We’re also talking with private hospitals across the UK and abroad to try and get Josh the very best option. Obviously this isn’t cheap, but how can we put a price on Josh’s life?”

The treatment is expected to cost in excess of £50,000, with the result that Beth has set up a gofundme link- ‘Joshua’s fight for life; Burkitt’s Lymphoma.

“We’ve had some incredibly difficult conversations over the last few weeks – conversations that no young couple should have to have, but that just comes with those waves of emotion that we’re dealing with,” continued Beth.

“In all honesty, I don’t know how I’m feeling at the moment. One day I;m full of hope, and then the next day it’s complete and utter sadness and this feeling of =dread creeping up behind me, that I’m not ready to face.

“But we’re both so overwhelmed and touched by all the love and support we’re getting. And this is really helping us through.

“Despite what has happened, we’re both totally determined, and we’re not stopping until we’re heard.

“Josh is totally ready to face whatever is coming next.”

To support Josh click here.

Community

Royal British Legion’s Wales Festival of Remembrance pays tribute to Armed Forces

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2024

Tom Sinclair

WALES came together on Saturday (Nov 2) in a moving tribute to the Armed Forces community at the Royal British Legion’s Wales Festival of Remembrance. For the first time, the event took place at the International Convention Centre (ICC) Wales in Newport.

Hosted by broadcaster Sian Lloyd, the evening honoured several significant anniversaries, including the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the 25th anniversary of the end of the war in Kosovo, and the 10th anniversary of the end of UK operations in Afghanistan. A special tribute also marked 80 years since the liberation of ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands by the Royal Welsh Regiment.

The event featured stirring performances by musical theatre group Welsh of the West End and classically trained soprano Laura Sidney. Choral contributions came from Barry Male Voice Choir, Cardiff Military Wives Choir Caerdydd, and Bristol Military Wives Choir, all accompanied by the Regimental Band and Corps of Drums of The Royal Welsh.

Honoured guests included D-Day veterans Jim Miller and John Fiddler, who received a warm welcome from the audience. Other notable attendees were The Rt Hon Jo Stevens, Secretary of State for Wales; Huw Irranca-Davies MS, Deputy First Minister; Brigadier Robert Aitken CBE, Lord Lieutenant of Gwent; and Colonel James Phillips, Veterans’ Commissioner for Wales, alongside senior military personnel.

Philippa Rawlinson, Director of Remembrance at the RBL, remarked: “In a year when we’re marking significant Second World War anniversaries, it’s important we also take time to remember the service and sacrifices of more recent conflicts and the younger generation of the Armed Forces community. Events like the Royal British Legion’s Wales Festival of Remembrance provide an opportunity to both honour the memories of those who have served in our Armed Forces in the past, whilst remembering those still serving today who protect our democratic freedoms and the way of life we all enjoy.”