Battle of Britain plotter recalls seeing Churchill looking on - wreathed in cigar smoke

The extraordinary work of Second World War veteran Kay Thomas is being highlighted by a military charity to mark International Women's Day.

Mrs Thomas was a plotter in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) - and at 105 years old she is one of the last remaining women to have served during the Battle of Britain.

Royal Star & Garter provides care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia, and Mrs Thomas lives at the charity's home in High Wycombe.

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Mrs Thomas is one of several remarkable women at Royal Star & Garter who served their country during and after the Second World War. 

After school, she started training as a nurse, but joined the WAAF when she was 20.

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

Mrs Thomas was working as a plotter 60ft below ground in The Bunker at RAF Uxbridge, tracking enemy aircraft as they made their way to Britain on bombing raids. 

Receiving information from radar stations and the Observer Corps, Mrs Thomas and her fellow plotters used a pusher on the end of a long rod to display the positions of the aircraft on a map table while senior officers looked on.

The veteran 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".

After being demobbed shortly after the war ended in 1945, Mrs Thomas became a bookkeeper and raised a family.

The bunker where she worked at RAF Uxbridge was restored and opened as the Battle of Britain Bunker education and visitor centre in 2018. 

Mrs Thomas was invited to the opening ceremony and saw that her story was part of the exhibition display.   

The Second World War veteran 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." 

For more information on Royal Star & Garter and the services it offers go to starandgarter.org