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

Published

6 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 Lottery makes Superdraw winner’s Christmas extra special

Published

2 days ago

December 3, 2025

Tom Sinclair

ONE lucky Pembrokeshire Lottery player has scooped a festive windfall after winning the £10,000 Christmas Superdraw held on Wednesday 3 December.

The winner, Mr Damon McGarvie, formerly of Milford Haven and now living in Llangwm, was selected with lucky number 41475. He plays through a salary-deduction scheme run by his employer, Pembrokeshire County Council.

Mr McGarvie’s name was announced live on Radio Pembrokeshire, after which the Pembrokeshire Lottery team made contact and presented him with his cheque later that day.

Speaking after the win, Mr McGarvie said he and his wife will be jetting off on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday over the festive period, thanks to the surprise Christmas windfall.

Pembrokeshire Lottery Manager Abigail Owens said:
“I am so pleased for Mr McGarvie. He has contributed to the Pembrokeshire Lottery for many years, and it is only by the continued support of our players that we are able to assist so many local businesses with interest-free funding from the loan fund.”

The regular weekly £2,000 draws continue in the run-up to the January Superdraw, which will offer a £4,000 prize.

To sign up or order Pembrokeshire Lottery gift subscriptions for Christmas, call 01646 690800.

Photo caption: Damon McGarvie with his winner’s cheque.

Community

Care home fees in Wales remain among the lowest – but families still face crippling bills

Published

2 days ago

December 3, 2025

Tom Sinclair

WALES continues to offer some of the most affordable care home places in the UK, with residents paying hundreds of pounds less each week than in London or Scotland, new figures reveal.

The average weekly cost of a residential care home place in Wales stands at £1,156 – £392 cheaper than in London (£1,548) and £142 below the UK average of £1,298, according to data published by the country’s largest care home reviews website, carehome.co.uk.

Even when nursing care or specialist dementia support is required, Wales remains significantly cheaper than most of the UK. A week in a Welsh nursing home with dementia care costs £1,440 on average – £327 less than in London and £124 below the national figure.

The figures, based on self-funder fees collected on 9 September 2025, underline a stark north-south divide that has persisted for years.

London is by far the most expensive region, with basic residential care now averaging £1,548 a week. Scotland, where care workers benefit from a higher minimum wage settlement, comes a close second at £1,539. In contrast, the North East of England remains the cheapest area at just £1,112 a week for residential care – almost £200 below the UK average.

Sue Learner, editor of carehome.co.uk, said the regional variations were only part of the story.

“Wales is the third most affordable region for most types of care, which will come as a relief to many families here,” she said. “But even at £1,156 a week, the bills add up to almost £60,000 a year. For the 49 per cent of residents who pay for their own care, these costs are devastating.”

The financial pressure is compounded by differing rules on state help across the UK. In Wales, anyone with assets below £50,000 qualifies for local authority support – more than double England’s £23,250 threshold and well above Scotland’s £35,000 limit.

Ms Learner warned that rising staff wages and looming increases in employer National Insurance contributions would push fees higher everywhere.

“Local councils are already stretched to breaking point,” she said. “Without genuine reform of the social care system – something governments have been promising for decades – more and more families will have no choice but to sell the family home to fund care.”

The website, which carries 390,000 independently verified reviews, is urging people to plan early and seek expert advice. Its free Care Helpline (01488 501 499) is available to anyone looking for a home that offers both quality and value for money.

As the population ages and demand grows, campaigners say the latest figures are another reminder that the postcode lottery in care costs shows no sign of disappearing.

UK care home fees at a glance (average weekly self-funder rates)

London: £1,548
Scotland: £1,539
South East England: £1,446
Wales: £1,156
North East England: £1,112 (cheapest)
UK average: £1,298

Source: carehome.co.uk, 9 September 2025

Community

Folly Farm marks second birth of critically endangered rhino

Published

2 days ago

December 3, 2025

Luke Sinclair

FOLLY FARM is celebrating the birth of another critically endangered eastern black rhino calf – and it’s a boy!

This is the second rhino calf to be born at the family-run zoo, and the second in Wales as part of a managed breeding programme through its membership with EAZA (the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria).

After a 15-month long pregnancy, mum Dakima gave birth to a healthy male calf on Thursday 27 November. With only an estimated 39 eastern black rhinos born in the UK in the past 25 years, it’s a significant achievement for the captive European Endangered Breeding Programme (EEP) for black rhinos.

Eastern black rhinos are classed as critically endangered due to poaching and loss of habitat. There is thought to be an estimated 1471 Eastern black rhino left in the wild and around 109 in zoos across Europe, including Folly Farm’s newest addition.

The calf made its appearance at 6.34am and within a couple of hours was standing up, following mum around the enclosure and had started suckling.

12-year-old eastern black rhino Dakima arrived at Folly Farm in May 2017 as part of a European breeding programme and met her mate, 14 year-old male Nkosi.

Mating rhinos can be unpredictable, but their relationship blossomed and Dakima gave birth to her first calf at the start of 2020. Male calf Glyndŵr was Dakima’s first born and the first rhino calf to have been born in Wales. Glyndŵr was named after Folly Farm’s Founding Director, the late Glyndŵr Williams, and has since moved onto another animal collection to continue the breeding programme for the species.

Eastern black rhinos are solitary animals and therefore usually reside in their own paddocks. But when the time was right, Dakima and Nkosi were reintroduced again for some carefully planned ‘date nights’ – and keepers predicted she fell pregnant sometime in August 2024. After having Dakima’s stool sample analysed at a specialist lab in Chester Zoo, who run the breeding programme for Eastern black rhino, it was confirmed that baby number two was on the way, with a due date of mid-November 2025.

Conservation Officer, Jack Gradidge, said: “It’s always heart-warming to welcome new arrivals as part of the European Breeding Programme through our membership with EAZA (The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) – but it’s even more special when it’s such a significant animal and one who’s wild cousins are under threat.

“Dakima was a great mum with Glyn so it’s wonderful to see these instincts are still just as strong the second time around. She’s being very protective of her new baby, showing they have a strong bond already.

“This is such a monumental event for all the staff here and the zoo team have worked incredibly hard to create an environment where the rhinos felt comfortable enough to mate.

“Not only is this calf helping to increase numbers of a critically endangered species, he’s also the second rhino ever to be born in Wales – with his brother being the first!”

Along with other zoos across Europe, Folly Farm is part of a breeding programme to help increase the numbers of Eastern black rhino in captivity and, ultimately, the wild. They support a number of conservation projects alongside various animal charities – including their new partnership with ‘Helping Rhinos’, a UK based organisation who, amongst various other conservation initiatives, support a rhino orphanage in South Africa, caring for young calves who have become victims of the poaching crisis.

Simon Jones, the CEO of Helping Rhinos was delighted with the zoo’s happy news; “We are absolutely delighted to welcome news of this beautiful eastern black rhino calf at Folly Farm.

We are grateful for their support of Helping Rhinos’ efforts including the care of young calves orphaned by poaching.”

Most animals give birth at night under the cover of darkness – and Dakima gave birth early in the morning, just before the keepers arrived to start their day.

Jack explains: “Our rhino keeper opened up the rhino house and the first thing he saw was the security camera footage where a tiny newborn rhino was seen happily padding about the enclosure. After quietly taking a sneaky peak at the beautiful new calf to confirm what he had seen – he let the team know the happy news that baby had arrived!

“We then left Dakima alone with her new bundle of joy, giving them both some space to bond – but continued to monitor them on the cameras and did regular spot checks to ensure baby was starting to feed.

“For us, the next steps are just to keep an eye on Dakima and make sure the calf stays healthy and gets everything he needs from mum. Our goal is always to let nature take its course and interfere as little as possible.

“Nkosi will be a bit of an absent father, but that’s perfectly normal as male rhinos don’t have anything to do with their offspring in the wild. It’s unlikely we’ll introduce him to the calf for some time.

“In the wild, rhino calves can stay with their mums for up to four years, after that there’s a possibility this new addition could one day be released into the wild to help boost population numbers – or move to another zoo to continue the breeding programme in Europe just like his brother.

“It’s exciting to be playing our part in helping to safeguard these amazing animals for future generations.”

Folly Farm’s rhino keepers will monitor mum and baby closely over the coming weeks and they will be back out in the enclosure in due course.

Visitors shouldn’t expect to see the calf for a while but Folly Farm will be posting updates on their social media channels.

Folly Farm’s Kifaru Reserve welcomed rhinos to the park ten years ago almost to the day! It is a £500,000 purpose-built exhibit which tells the story of the role of modern zoos in conservation and highlights Folly Farm’s hands-on commitment to conservation through the projects it supports in the wild and closer to home.

For further information please visit https://www.folly-farm.co.uk/.