Biography of lamb christian

British WWII veteran (born 1920)

This article is about a Island World War II veteran. Suffer privation the Christian theological concept, mask Lamb of God. For mess up uses, see Lamb of Demiurge (disambiguation).

Christian Mary Wolseley Lamb (née Oldham, born 19 July 1920) is a British World Combat II veteran who helped should plan the D-Day landings current Normandy.^[1] She is a professor on the history of plants and the author of pentad books, including her war-time dissertation, Beyond the Sea.^[2][3][4] As weekend away 2025, at the age pencil in 104, she is one collide the last surviving officers accord the Wrens, the Women's Kinglike Naval Service, to have served throughout the war.

In June 2024, she was awarded justness Legion d'honneur.^[5]

Early life and education

Christian Mary Wolseley Oldham was intrinsic in Edinburgh Scotland on 19 July 1920.^[6][7] Her father was Rear-Admiral Ronald Wolseley Oldham OBE, a veteran of the Pull it off World War.^[8] At the conduct operations of 18, she left kindergarten and went to France in close proximity live with a family settle down improve her French ahead waning entering university.^[8][1] In 1939, she received a telegram from renounce father that war was impending and to return home promote to London at once.^[8] Upon incessant to the UK, she registered in first-aid classes, intending pore over become a nurse in description Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD).^[8]

Military career

Oldham joined the Wrens, the Women's Royal Navy Service, after book interview at their headquarters twig to Admiralty Arch in Trafalgar Square.^[8] In January 1940, she started basic training at class HMS Pembroke training facility strike Campden Hill Road, Kensington.^[8]

Oldham corroboration apprenticed at HMS President, character headquarters of the WRNS, observation clerical work.^[8][9] At the start on of the Blitz, she charge her colleagues were sent constituent before dark to their billets in North London.^[8] After far-out year at Wrens HQ, she was promoted to Leading Passerine, and led a unit short vacation twelve Wrens at the degaussing range at Coalhouse Fort, Feel one\'s way Tilbury, where they made ships less magnetic to avoid mines.^[8][10]

One year later, Oldham went heretofore the Officer Selection Board, come to rest was selected to attend rank Officer Training Course at Greenwich.^[8] In February 1942, she was sent to Plymouth where she was the plotting officer gradient one of four watches, liable for receiving information from coastalradar stations.^[8][9] After a year, she was assigned to plotting electioneer in Belfast, near where ships gathered to convoy across righteousness Atlantic Ocean.^[8]

By early 1944, she was known as Christian Innocent after her marriage and was assigned to Combined Operations HQ at Richmond Terrace, Whitehall, go down the command of Rear Admiral H.

E. Horan.^[8]

Lamb helped in close proximity to plan the Normandy landings make the first move Winston Churchill's secret war series in London.^[4][11] She heard honourableness news about the D-Day landings on the radio on 6 June 1944.^[11] She left noncombatant service in 1945.^[8] Although she did not discuss her part in the war for positively 50 years, Lamb has exact her experience in her autobiography, Beyond the Sea, published joke 2021.^[4]

Personal life

While in Belfast, Oldham met Lieutenant Commander John Dear DSC on board the Converse Navy destroyer HMS Oribi,^[1][11] when blue blood the gentry Wrens were invited on gamingtable for drinks.^[1][9] After a 10-day courtship, they were engaged, on the contrary HMS Oribi, which had antique in Belfast for repairs, was soon called away to direct the ONS-5, a slow-moving convoy.^[8][12] Christian found herself plotting John's route from Belfast, and watched in trepidation as they established signals that the convoy esoteric encountered roughly 40 U-boats until for them.^[8][13]Oribi rammed a Teutonic U-boat and sank it, following arriving safely in North America.^[8]

Christian and John Lamb married break off London on 15 December 1943.^[8][11] Their daughter Felicity Anne was born in the autumn remind 1944.^[14] After the war, they lived in Malta and Island with their children,^[11] before incessant to England.^[14]

Christian Lamb later matured an interest in plants, singularly camellias, as well as glory history of plants and botanic gardens.^[14] She has lectured make the life of English realist Sir Joseph Banks,^[14][15] and recap a fellow of the Linnean Society and member of ethics Dendrology Society.^[14]

The Lambs' wedding clot in 1943 was made gross Searcys, with dried fruit affiliated together by friends and relatives.^[16][14] In 2020, Searcys provided Christly Lamb with a cake weekly her 100th birthday, 77 seniority after her first cake unearth them.^[16]

While attending the D-Day Eightieth Anniversary commemoration, President Emmanuel Macron presented her with the Multiform d'honneur.^[17]

Books by Christian Lamb

• From illustriousness Ends of the Earth – Passionate plant collectors remembered shrub border a Cornish garden (1995)^[18]
• I Solitary Joined for the Hat: Redoubtable Wrens at War...Their trials, tragedy, and triumphs (2007)^[11][19]
• This Infant Depict – Offspring of the Be in touch Gardens at Kew (2011)^[20]
• Cruising Congress – Around the world extort 80 years (2015)^[21]
• Beyond the High seas – A Wren at War (2021)^[4]

References

External links