WOMEN who served and died during the Second World War will be remembered in a Cleator WI project.
Members are seeking any information Whitehaven News readers can add to the details they already have about seven women who came from the areas of Cleator Moor, Whitehaven and Egremont.
The intention is to hold a service in their memory and to also recognise their sacrifice via the War Graves Commission’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
They have name, rank and numbers for the women but are hoping to discover some more personal information about them.
The women include leading aircraftswoman Florence May Hunter, 37, of Hensingham, aircraftswoman Gladys Edith Hadwin of Whitehaven, aircraftswoman Ella Esterina Eldon, 28, of Cleator Moor and Elizabeth (Betty) Cowan of Bransty, of the Woman’s Auxiliary Airforce.
The other three are Catherine Williamson, 20, of Cleator Moor, who was with HMS Ferret, the Navy’s shore based establishment at Derry that served the Atlantic convoys, Women's Royal Naval Service's Grace Anne Cummings, 19, of Egremont, who served at HMS Nightjar, the naval air station at Inskip, Lancashire and Edith Elizabeth Martin (nee Southam), 21, of Egremont, who was with the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
Joyce Bennett of Cleator WI said: "Ideally, we would like to hold a small service in recognition of their sacrifices, in particular because females got such a raw deal at that time.
"It would be good to learn some more about the lives of these ladies and to perhaps get in touch with any of their relatives who may still be around, or indeed hear of others that we don’t yet know about.”
Those with information can contact secretary, Valerie Marshall at valerie.marshall.ilm@googlemail.com, or president, Mary Taylor on 01946 815140.
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