Centenarian Marian and her top secret role in fight against the Nazis

A WARTIME secretary who played a top secret role at North Wales RAF base has celebrated her 100th birthday.

- By DAVID POWELL

Marian Williams and daughter Nia Williams enjoying the celebrations

Marian Williams, who was just 14 when the Second World War broke out, went to work as a teenage secretary at a mansion near Beaumaris that was requisitioned by the RAF.

Her momentous milestone was marked with a lively party at Pendine Park's Bryn Seiont Newydd care home in Caernarfon. Staff and family gathered to honour her century of memories.

Daughter Nia Williams explained that her mother worked close to a busy RAF base on the Menai Strait where Catalina sea planes arrives to be taken into Allied service during the war. More than 700 of the aircraft were delivered to the RAF from late-1941 onwards and used by various Coastal Command squadrons for reconnaissance, antisubmarine patrols and search and rescue missions.

"She would sit in on the meetings between the RAF officers and the Americans who were based in Beaumaris at the time and later type up the minutes," said Nia.

"We didn't know this until just a few years ago and when we asked her what the meetings were about she didn't know. She just took the notes and typed them up she said.