This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2e3drmy3v7o
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
VE Day: Codebreaker sits next to King Charles at VE Day parade | VE Day: Codebreaker sits next to King Charles at VE Day parade |
(1 day later) | |
Joy Trew said she had no idea she would be seated next to King Charles | Joy Trew said she had no idea she would be seated next to King Charles |
A 98-year-old World War Two veteran who had a blanket wrapped around her by King Charles during this week's VE Day parade says she "had no idea" that she was going to be seated next to His Majesty. | |
Joy Trew, who was born in Bristol but lives in Wells in Somerset, served in the WAAF (Women's Auxiliary Air Force) and worked at RAF Chicksands during the war. | |
There she listened to intercepted enemy messages in support of Bletchley Park, Britain's leading code-breaking facility. | There she listened to intercepted enemy messages in support of Bletchley Park, Britain's leading code-breaking facility. |
She was recently awarded a medal on national TV for her wartime service, having been missed off the original roll of honour as she was living in Spain. | She was recently awarded a medal on national TV for her wartime service, having been missed off the original roll of honour as she was living in Spain. |
Joy travelled to London to attend the VE Day military parade on Monday. | Joy travelled to London to attend the VE Day military parade on Monday. |
Upon arrival, an attendant asked Joy's daughter if she wouldn't mind sitting next to an "important" person. | |
"When I sat down I noticed there were two empty seats next to me," said Joy. | "When I sat down I noticed there were two empty seats next to me," said Joy. |
"They looked just like our seats, so I asked my daughter who was sitting next to us and she had to come clean." | |
To Joy's surprise, she had been selected to sit next to the King and Queen in the front row. | |
"He shook my hand and asked me about my service and what I did and we talked about the parade - it was absolutely fabulous," she said. | "He shook my hand and asked me about my service and what I did and we talked about the parade - it was absolutely fabulous," she said. |
Joy got national attention when the King was pictured "tucking her in" by wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. | |
Joy received a special medal and letter from the prime minister | |
RAF Chicksands in Bedfordshire, where Joy worked, was part of a large network of signals intelligence collection sites known as Y stations. | |
The stations fed any encrypted messages back to the code breakers at Bletchley Park to be deciphered. | The stations fed any encrypted messages back to the code breakers at Bletchley Park to be deciphered. |
All Y station listeners are classed as Bletchley Park veterans and were issued with a specially-made medal in 2009 - but Joy missed out on receiving one due to living abroad. | |
She has now finally been awarded a medal after her family told her story to the author and historian Tessa Dunlop. | |
"Joy came to me through the medium of Instagram - when her great-grandson got in touch to ask why she wasn't in one of my books," said Dr Dunlop. | |
"I had just finished a book on how we commemorate war and the different veterans voices in 100 memorials... when up pops the best veteran of the lot in Joy," she added. | |
Dr Dunlop was able to arrange a medal for Joy, which she received after her very special day sitting next to the King. | |
SIMPLE GUIDE: VE Day moments so far - and what's still to come | SIMPLE GUIDE: VE Day moments so far - and what's still to come |
IN PICTURES: Red Arrows, royals, veterans and tea | IN PICTURES: Red Arrows, royals, veterans and tea |
WATCH: Unseen royal moments from VE Day commemorations | WATCH: Unseen royal moments from VE Day commemorations |
360 VIDEO: Experience the flypast from inside a Red Arrows cockpit | 360 VIDEO: Experience the flypast from inside a Red Arrows cockpit |
EXPLORE: More on VE Day | EXPLORE: More on VE Day |
Previous version
1
Next version