Barbara Alice Robb of Arbroath, who served with the Women’s Royal Air Force during the Second World War, has died aged 100.
She was born in Devon and met her Scottish husband, John Robb, while they were both stationed in Germany after the war had ended.
Barbara and John, of Dundee, married in her hometown of Barnstaple in April 1947. She wore a dress of parachute silk which had been made in Germany.
At her funeral at Parkgrove crematorium Friockheim, one of the mourners was Barbara’s niece, Jill, who had been a flower girl at her wedding.
Barbara was one of five siblings born to Charlie and Mabel Webber and apart from Ruby, who died aged eight, all went on to have long lives. Joan lived until she was 87, Margaret was 95 when she died and Roy was 98.
War measures
She was educated in Barnstaple and left school aged 14 to work in a glove factory which later began making gas masks for the war effort.
Barbara joined the WRAF in 1942 when she was 19 and trained at Morecombe before being posted to St Ives. She was later sent to Chivenor in Devon, not far from her home town.
When the war ended she volunteered for overseas service and spent 18 months in Germany during which time she met John who was in the RAF Regiment.
The couple set up home in Barnstaple and welcomed sons, Christopher and Ian, before moving to Elliot Street in Arbroath in the early 1950s.
The family later moved to Victoria Street in the town, which they shared with John’s stepmother, Hannah, and her sister, Ethel.
Holidays were spent in Devon, a journey that in pre-motorway days took two days to complete.
Holiday winner
Barbara and John loved holidaying in warmer climates. In later years, after John died, Barbara won a holiday at the bingo for the Disney resort in Florida. She caught the Florida bug and was able to go back with the rest of the family several times.
A keen reader, Barbara also followed tennis, golf and football on television and even became familiar with the offside rule.
Her son, Christopher, said: “To date, mum is the only one of the family to make it to 100. We were able to celebrate this with a surprise garden party at her granddaughter Kelly’s house which 103 people attended.”
You can read the family’s announcement here.
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