Celebrating a 'powerful' former war 'correspondent' on her 99th birthday

Pat marked the big day at Wellington Vale Care Home, Denmead, alongside her son, daughter-in-law and staff.

Gaynor Rhead, the general manager at Wellington Vale said: ‘Pat had a wonderful birthday – she said she didn’t expect to be so spoilt!

‘Our talented patisserie chef made her a beautiful birthday cake. The care team and residents sang Happy Birthday to her and presented her with a bouquet of flowers - we made sure she had a really special day.’

Patricia was born in 1923 in Melbourne, Australia, coming to England when she was four and settling in Mitcham, London.

At school Pat studied German and when she left she joined the War Office and was sent to Liverpool to translate German messages and handle correspondence from German prisoner-of-war camps.

‘It was hard to get information out of her about those times. She still felt a responsibility to keep it a secret,’ explains Pat’s son, Ray Ferrier.

Pat played a vital role in analysing letters from Germans arriving at the camps who were corresponding with relatives and friends. ‘I think it would’ve been very hard and emotional,’ says Ray.

The often unsavoury content had to be carefully scrutinised by Pat, picking out important details and censoring those which violated the Official Secrets Act.

When she 19 she was bombed out of Liverpool and the War Office made the decision that teenage girls should not be dealing with personal correspondence.

When she returned to London, Pat felt it was her ‘duty’ to continue the war effort and so she joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens) and became a radar mechanic at Chatham.

‘She’s quite powerful. She’s a good leader and good at encouraging people to do things,’ adds Ray.

The day after VE day, Patricia met Alexander Ferrier on a train travelling from Chatham to London. He was returning from a prisoner-of-war camp and was later awarded Conspicuous Gallantry Medal.

The pair were married on January 5, 1946, and moved to Waterlooville in 1947 where they lived until he died in 2001.

Pat worked in Havant Library as a librarian and was very involved in the community after she retired – including being an active member of the Friends of Portsdown Hill and the Mothers’ Union.

‘She likes all the entertainment at the care home, she was very much the outgoing type,’ adds Ray.

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