VE Day: Codebreaker sits next to King Charles at VE Day parade
A 98-year-old Second World War veteran who had a blanket wrapped around her by the King during this week's VE Day parade says she "had no idea" that she was going to be seated next to His Royal Highness.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.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.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."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.Joy got national attention when King Charles was pictured 'tucking her in' by wrapping a blanket around her shoulders.
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.All Y Station listeners are classed as Bletchley Park veterans and were issued with a specially-made medal in 2009, but Joy missed out due to living abroad.She has now finally been awarded a medal, after her family told her story to the author and historian Dr 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 - I had just finished it 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 comeIN PICTURES: Red Arrows, royals, veterans and teaWATCH: Unseen royal moments from VE Day commemorations360 VIDEO: Experience the flypast from inside a Red Arrows cockpitEXPLORE: More on VE Day
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