13th October 2011

WEYMOUTH: 100 years of memories

A WEYMOUTH woman who made and maintained armoured fighting vehicles during the Second World War and recently celebrated her 100th birthday is expected to visit Bovington Tank Museum soon to recall her experience to historians.

Martha Martin was born in Beeston Nottingham and moved to Weymouth with her husband Idris and son Idris Junior in 1957 to live at Broadwey, near the New Inn.

Martha began her work career in the lace industry in Beeston but on the outbreak of war she moved to Chilwell Depot with her sister Louie where she was employed constructing and maintaining armoured fighting vehicles for the duration of the war, before returning to the lace trade after hostilities had ceased.

Idris junior said: “I have spoken to one of Bovington Tank Museum’s historians and my wife Paula and I are going to take Martha to the Tank Museum to give an account of her wartime service at Chilwell Depot as there can’t be many people still around who served there during the war.

“My mum still has a detailed memory of things that happened many years ago despite her age. My grandad, William Tonks, Martha’s dad, served in the Royal Engineers in the trenches during the First World War and confided only in my mum some of the harrowing experiences that he endured too gruesome to chronicle here.”

Twenty-two members of Martha’s family and friends celebrated her birthday with a party at the Rembrant Hotel and then took her for a spin in her wheel chair into Weymouth, proudly displaying a balloon with happy 100th birthday printed on it.

She was also very proud to receive a bunch of flowers and a card from the staff at Lodmoor Post Office and another bunch of flowers from a family friend Queenie, who lives in Canberra in Australia.

WEYMOUTH: 100 years of memories

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