'Grandma would have been emotional at WW2 plaque'

Justine Pearson and her son were present for a ceremonial unveiling of the plaque

A woman has said her grandma would have been proud and emotional to see a plaque marking the top-secret work she did during World War Two.

Q Central, a top-secret communications base in underground tunnels based at the former RAF Leighton Buzzard site in Bedfordshire, was honoured with a commemorative plaque near the war memorial in the town centre on Tuesday.

Justine Pearson said her grandmother Joan Spencer, who died last year aged 102, was proud of her work although initially she was unaware of the full scale of the operation due to secrecy.

"She served in Q Central, but she wasn't actually aware that she was doing that," she said.

Joan Spencer died in June 2024 at the age of 102

On a lunch break at the camouflaged site, Ms Spencer discovered her bike had been spray-painted a different colour to obscure the fact staff were present at the top-secret base, which was in Stanbridge, just to the east of Leighton Buzzard.

Ms Pearson said: "She spent the whole of her lunch break trying to clean her bike before she realised what she was actually doing and what she was working for."

In later years she "played it down quite a lot" even though she enjoyed telling stories about how she aided the war effort.

Her granddaughter continued: "It was just being involved in the community and being able to retell stories as she got older.

"It was something she could share with her family that I think she was quite proud about. But again, she didn't give much away."

About 5,000 people worked at the communications base during World War Two (1939-45)

Q Central housed the largest telephone exchange in the world, with more than 5,000 staff operating high-level military communications.

It co-ordinated operations including the Battle of Britain, D-Day, and worked with the better known secret code-breaking site at nearby Bletchley Park, in Buckinghamshire.

It was based near Leighton Buzzard due to its good transport links and no obvious military presence.

The RAF Leighton Buzzard operation was believed to be the largest telephone exchange in the world

The plaque was unveiled by Labour's Alex Mayer, who was the first female Member of Parliament for the Leighton Buzzard area.

She wanted to ensure the work of the many women involved was properly acknowledged.

"One day it would be fantastic, wouldn't it, to get a visitors center here so that after people have been to Bletchley Park, they come along here and find out about the history that happened here on our doorstep," said Mayer, who was elected as MP for Dunstable & Leighton Buzzard in 2024.

Ms Pearson added: "If she could have been here, she would have she would have been absolutely emotional. She would have been really, really happy."