Patricia Owtram would later sign the Official Secrets Act in the Liver Building
Patricia Owtram, also known as Pat, never thought learning German as a teenager would later help Britain win WWII. Raised in a Lancashire country house, her family took in two Austrian Jewish refugees in the 1930s, one named Edith Krochmalmik and her schoolfriend Cecelie Getzl, also known as Lilly.
Speaking to the ECHO, Pat said: "When I joined the Wrens and they asked 'anything else you can do?', I think I could drive a car, but I put down German. They were of course looking for girls from reliable families, who knew German and could work on the interception of German signals. Jean, who sadly died in April this year aged 97, had a quick brain for a crossword landed her a secretive role as code and cipher officer in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. At just 18-years-old, she was posted to Cairo, before moving on to Italy to support allied agents and aid Partisan efforts against the Nazis.
During her time as a code-breaker, Pat also learned how to use an official guard's machine gun, she added: "I do remember asking that if the Germans land could we help defend ourselves? And they very kindly said yes, we will train you."
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