Radcliffe on Trent: Cook who fed WW2 leaders celebrates 102nd birthday

A former Army cook who once prepared food some of World War Two's most famous leaders has celebrated her 102nd birthday.

Mary Ann Robinson was joined by friends and family to mark the occasion at the weekend.

The great-great-grandmother has become a well-known face in Radcliffe on Trent, Nottinghamshire, where she has lived for 32 years.

"I don't know what keeps me going but I've had a great life," she said.

Mrs Robinson, who turned 102 on Sunday, said she joined the army as a teenager in 1941.

She said: "I normally made food for officers but then one time I was told go up to Scotland to prepare a very special meal."

She said she found herself cooking for Prime Minister Winston Churchill, King George V, supreme Allied commander Dwight D Eisenhower and British general Bernard Montgomery.

"It was just before D-Day, and they were getting ready," she said. "It was very quite an experience - they got the very posh food."

After the invasion, Mrs Robinson was posted in France, Belgium and then Germany.

"I know it it was a terrible time overall but it was one of the best times of my life," she said.

She met her late husband Billie, an airman, while on leave in London and they married just before the end of the war.

The couple moved to Mansfield, where Mr Robinson worked as a decorative plasterer, and then to Beeston before finally settling in Radcliffe.

Mrs Robinson celebrated her birthday with a special meal at the village's Humble Cat cafe on Sunday.

She said: "It was so lovely to have my family and my dear friends around me."

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