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

Published

7 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

Fire leaves Letterston families homeless after homes destroyed

Published

10 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Two houses lost and a third badly smoke-damaged as villagers rally to support those affected

THREE families have been forced from their homes after a major fire tore through a terrace in Letterston, destroying two properties and leaving a third badly affected by smoke.

The blaze broke out at around 4:00pm on Wednesday (Apr 15), prompting a major emergency response from fire crews across west Wales.

Appliances were sent from Fishguard, Haverfordwest, Milford Haven, St Davids, Narberth, Carmarthen and Tumble as firefighters worked for hours to bring the incident under control.

Residents nearby said they first noticed what looked like a dark haze outside before realising smoke was pouring from the row of houses. As the seriousness of the situation became clear, people in neighbouring homes were told to get out.

Witnesses described seeing flames race through the roof spaces of the terrace, while windy conditions made the fire harder to contain. There were also reports of loud bangs as the blaze spread close to overhead power lines.

Fire crews remained at the scene into the evening, supported by utility workers dealing with the electricity supply. Some nearby homes were left without power until late that night.

By the time the fire was out, two houses had been completely gutted. A third remained standing but was left uninhabitable because of heavy smoke contamination inside.

Among those affected was a young family with a three-month-old baby. Although their house was not destroyed structurally, smoke damage is understood to have ruined furniture, clothing and other possessions, including items for the child.

All three households have since moved in with relatives or friends while they deal with the aftermath.

Despite the scale of the incident, nobody was injured.

The fire has shocked the village, but local people have quickly stepped in to offer help, with fundraising appeals launched to support those who have lost their homes and belongings.

How to help

Fundraising appeals can be found at:

gofundme.com/f/help-young-family-return-home-after-smoke-damage

gofundme.com/f/friends-house-destroyed-by-fire-f24y5

gofundme.com/f/the-families-effected-by-the-fire

Community

Pembrokeshire among worst-hit areas as accidental deaths rise

Published

1 day ago

April 17, 2026

Tom Sinclair

PEMBROKESHIRE and Carmarthenshire have been named among the worst-affected areas in England and Wales for accidental deaths, according to new figures from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

Newly-published data shows Pembrokeshire recorded an accidental death rate of 55.18 per 100,000 people in 2023, with Carmarthenshire close behind on 55.15. Both figures are rounded to 55 and place the two west Wales counties in the top 10 highest local authority areas across England and Wales.

Pembrokeshire ranked eighth on the list, while Carmarthenshire was ninth.

The figures form part of RoSPA’s latest Annual Review of Accidents, which warns that preventable deaths and injuries are continuing to rise across the UK.

Wales as a whole recorded an accidental death rate of 44.25 per 100,000 people in 2023, far above the UK-wide figure of 33.97. Only Scotland recorded a higher national rate.

The report paints a worrying picture for Wales, where RoSPA says accidental deaths have risen by 43 per cent over the past decade and now claim more than 1,200 lives a year.

Falls remain the biggest single cause of accidental death. In Wales, 733 people died in falls in 2023, up from 560 the previous year. That equates to a fatal falls rate of 23.15 per 100,000 people across the country.

The local breakdown suggests falls are also a major factor in west Wales. Pembrokeshire recorded a falls death rate of 28.79 per 100,000, while Carmarthenshire stood at 27.31. Carmarthenshire also had a notably higher accidental poisoning death rate than Pembrokeshire.

Across the whole of the UK, RoSPA estimates around 23,000 people died in accidents in 2023, while almost 900,000 people were admitted to hospital because of accidental injuries in 2023–24.

Becky Hickman, chief executive of RoSPA, said too many families were suffering life-changing loss from incidents that could often have been prevented.

She said: “Accidents devastate lives in an instant.

“They are often sudden, violent, and shocking, leaving families and communities to cope with consequences that can last a lifetime.

“What makes this devastation even harder to bear is the knowledge that so many of these incidents are entirely preventable.”

RoSPA has called for stronger action from governments across the UK, including a national strategy to reduce accidental deaths and serious injuries.

Ahead of the 2026 Senedd election, the charity has also launched its Stronger, Safer Wales campaign, urging the next Welsh Government to treat accident prevention as a major public health priority.

The charity says the risks in Wales are particularly acute in areas such as falls, accidental poisonings, rural roads, machinery-related incidents and water safety.

Ms Hickman said: “Our Annual Review of Accidents shows we are still not doing enough to reduce avoidable harm, life-changing injuries and personal tragedies.

“From our roads to our workplaces, the homes we live in to where we spend our leisure time, people in Britain are at increasing and unacceptable risk of suffering a serious accident.”

Community

Hippo bones put Wogan’s Cave at centre of major new dig

Published

1 day ago

April 17, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Five-year project beneath Pembroke Castle could transform understanding of prehistoric Britain

A MAJOR new archaeological project has been launched at Wogan’s Cave beneath Pembroke Castle after experts revealed the site may hold one of the most important prehistoric records in Britain.

The hidden cavern, tucked beneath the northern side of the medieval fortress, is now at the centre of a five-year exploration which archaeologists believe could rewrite part of the story of ancient Britain.

At the heart of the excitement is the discovery of hippopotamus bones dating back around 120,000 years — a striking sign that animals now linked with far warmer climates once lived in what is now west Wales.

Researchers say the cave has also produced remains of mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, reindeer and wild horse, along with evidence of repeated human occupation stretching back more than 100,000 years.

The new project will be led by the University of Aberdeen, with support from Pembroke Castle Trust, after fresh funding was secured for a detailed programme of excavation and analysis.

Lost world beneath the castle

For many years, Wogan’s Cave was thought to have been largely emptied by Victorian excavations, leading archaeologists to believe that little of major significance remained.

That assumption has now been turned on its head.

More recent work has shown that large areas of sediment survived intact, preserving a valuable archive of prehistoric life, changing climates and early human activity. Experts now believe the cave may contain evidence spanning several different periods of occupation, making it one of the most important sites of its kind in Britain.

The finds point to a landscape dramatically different from the Pembrokeshire seen today, with warmer periods supporting animals such as hippos and colder phases bringing species including reindeer and woolly rhinoceros.

Experts are particularly excited by signs that the cave may hold extremely rare evidence of early Homo sapiens in Britain, alongside traces of even earlier human occupation, probably by Neanderthals.

Scientific techniques

The five-year investigation is expected to use advanced scientific methods including high-precision dating and DNA analysis from bones and cave sediments.

Archaeologists hope this will help answer major questions about how prehistoric humans lived, how they responded to huge swings in climate, and how different groups may have used the cave over tens of thousands of years.

The project also promises to shine a new light on Pembroke Castle itself, which is already internationally famous as the birthplace of Henry Tudor.

Until now, the castle’s story has largely centred on its medieval significance. But the latest discoveries suggest the headland on which it stands was important to humans and animals for many thousands of years before the first stone walls were ever raised.

National importance

Castle staff have welcomed the new phase of work, saying the discoveries add an extraordinary new chapter to Pembroke’s already rich history.

There is also strong local importance, with finds from the cave expected to be curated and kept in Pembroke.

Wogan’s Cave has long fascinated visitors, but the latest announcement is likely to push it firmly into the national spotlight.

What was once seen as a largely exhausted chamber beneath a famous castle is now emerging as a prehistoric time capsule — one with the potential to reshape understanding of ancient Britain.

If the full promise of the site is realised, Pembroke may become known not only for its medieval past, but for preserving one of the deepest and richest records of prehistoric life yet discovered anywhere in these islands.