During the Battle of Britain in 1940, the country stood alone against Hitler's seemingly unstoppable military power and came under a large-scale attack from the Luftwaffe.

Kay was working as a plotter, 60ft below ground in ‘The Bunker’ at RAF Uxbridge, and tracking enemy planes as they made their way to Britain on bombing raids. Receiving information from radar stations and the Observer Corps, they used a pusher on the end of a long rod to display the positions of the aircraft on a map drawn on a huge table.

Senior officers would observe tensely from the gallery above. Kay remembered on several occasions seeing Winston Churchill looking down on them as she and other plotters worked. She recalled that his face was “wreathed in cigar smoke.”

Kay was demobbed shortly after the war ended in 1945, and became a bookkeeper after raising her family.

In 2018, the bunker that she worked in at RAF Uxbridge was restored and opened as the Battle of Britain Bunker education and visitor centre. Kay was invited to the opening ceremony, and saw that her story was part of the exhibition display. 

Kay is now living with dementia, but still has memories of that historic time. Recordings for her family, shared with Royal Star & Garter, also mean her remarkable story lives on and will not be forgotten.  

Caley Eldred, Director of Supporter Engagement at Royal Star & Garter, said: “It is a privilege to care for remarkable women like Kay in our Homes, and to empower them to tell their stories. As this generation passes on, it’s more important than ever that these stories are shared and celebrated.”

www.starandgarter.org