I might be the only respectable old lady in London who still knows how to use a light machine gun

German language learned from refugees allowed Pat to join special elite Navy unit

- BY SIMON ROBINSON

Patricia Owtram was one of an elite group of young women who played a crucial role in defeating the Nazis - but for decades, she didn't talk about it.

She was a special duties linguist in the secret Naval Y Service, who intercepted German communications during the Second World War.

Turning 103 today, Pat is believed to be the last surviving member of "Freddie's Fairies", nicknamed after their wartime instructor, Lieutenant Commander Freddie Marshall.

Based at Abbots Cliff House near Dover, she and her fellow Wrens worked four-hour watches, searching for enemy signals while bombs fell and German guns fired across the Channel.

And if it had come to it, she was ready to play a more direct role in defending Britain - she was trained to use a Sten gun in case of an invasion.

Pat says: "With the threat of a German Commando-style raid, we Wrens felt we would rather like to know how to help defend our base.

"The Armed Military Police were very good about showing us how to hit targets. I've sometimes thought I might be the only respectable old lady in London who still knows how to use a light machine gun."

Pat left home for London in 1941 and volunteered for the Wrens aged 18 the following year. Normally, she would have been ruled out by a bout of bovine tuberculosis she suffered growing up in Lancaster, Lancs.

She had one thing in her favour - thanks to two Austrian Jewish refugees who had fled the Nazis and worked at her family's home, she could speak conversational German.

Lily Getzel and Edith Krochmalnik remained lifelong friends of Pat.