One of the last surviving Wrens has told of her pride at representing the generation who "gave their all" as she visited the site of her former barracks near Edinburgh. Dorothea Barron, aged 100, said she felt her departed comrades "watching me" as she marked the start of construction work at the old barracks near Port Edgar which is being transformed into affordable homes.
Ms Barron served as a visual signaller in the Women's Royal Naval Service, playing a key role in training personnel ahead of the D-Day landings. On Thursday, she laid the first brick as construction began at the site, saying: "This is so exciting, I feel so honoured."
Centenarian's wartime memories
She arrived in a black cab driven by the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, remarking: "It's worth being 100 for this!" Speaking to the PA news agency, she was humble about her own role in the war, saying: "I don't do this on my behalf, it's on behalf of everybody of every armed force."
"I feel their bodies watching me - having lived to 100 I'm still representing that generation, which went totally, totally devotedly to war to protect the British isles," she said. "I'm so proud still to be able to represent all my generation, who gave so much. They gave their all. They were prepared to die for their country."
VJ Day anniversary approaches
With the anniversary of VJ Day approaching, she said the end of the war had felt like a "burden being lifted". The veteran said it is "tremendous" the old barracks site will have a new lease of life as housing and community centres.
She remembers arriving at the "beautiful" location as a young member of the Wrens who did not mind the fact that their accommodation was in "very rudimentary" corrugated iron huts. Ms Barron enlisted in the Wrens when she was 18, having been a schoolgirl in London during the Blitz.
Determined to serve
She was so determined to serve she faked her height in order to pass the Wrens' entrance requirements - stuffing cardboard inside her shoes to make her appear taller. During the war she spent much of her time at naval sites in Scotland, initially at Port Edgar on the Firth of Forth and then Rosyth in Fife, Aberdeen, and Campbeltown on the Kintyre peninsula.
The centenarian - who now enjoys yoga and lives in Hertfordshire - specialised in reading morse code and semaphore, and was stationed at the site from November 1943 to June 1944 when it was known as HMS Hopetoun. Working in other parts of Scotland as well as Port Edgar, her main job was to help naval personnel learn signalling techniques at sea.
Special Scotland trip
Her visit to Port Edgar is part of a special trip organised by The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, run by volunteer London black cab drivers. As well as the old barracks building, she will be taken to other sites around Scotland where she served during the war.
The old barracks buildings have sat derelict for years and are now being transformed by the project by Lar Housing Trust. Lar chief executive Ann Leslie said: "We're absolutely delighted to welcome Dorothea to our Port Edgar development - she is a remarkable lady with a fund of stories to tell about her time here."
Historic site transformation
"This project has captured the imagination of so many people with historic and family links to the barracks, and it's a special moment for us to meet Dorothea and hear about her memories of being stationed here," Leslie added. "We've also enjoyed incredible support from the City of Edinburgh Council as well as local community, heritage and history groups who are delighted that something so positive is happening at such an important and historic site."
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
