WYTHALL veteran Betty Webb MBE who worked at Bletchley Park during the Second World War has been invited to the Coronation of King Charles III.
Betty had no prior knowledge she would be getting the invitation.
She said: “As I was opening the envelope I thought it was an early 100th birthday card.
“But I was so surprised to see an invitation to such an amazing event.
“Over the years I have been to garden parties at Buckingham Palace, but never thought I’d get a seat amongst the celebrations.”
Betty has met several members of the royal family, and King Charles even awarded her MBE in 2019.
She added: “I met King Charles when he was a Prince, we had a nice chat when he presented me with the MBE.
“I’m absolutely overwhelmed and delighted.”
Charlotte ‘Betty’ Webb joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service at the age of 18 and was stationed at Bletchley Park, the famous codebreaking arm of the British intelligence services.
As a German speaker, Mrs Webb was tasked with decoding and translating German ‘Enigma’ messages, handling some of the first intelligence messages on the Holocaust.
Upon joining the ATS – the women’s branch of the military at the time – Mrs Webb signed the Official Secrets Act, which prevented her from talking about her work at Bletchley Park until 1975.
Since then, Mrs Webb has written a memoir and was awarded an MBE for her services.
In 2021, Mrs Webb was presented with the Legion d’Honneur – France’s highest award – for helping liberate our cross-Channel friends.
Her courage and dedication remain an inspiration to all.
Betty said she will be making a weekend of the occasion.
“I’ll be going down to London the evening before and staying the following evening.
“I can’t explain what this means to me, it’s such a special occasion and a complete shock that my work had lead to be being invited.”
