Mrs Phyllis Hales

In loving memory of Phyllis, resident of Royal Star & Garter.

Phyllis was born in London in 1922. Her father Frank had served in the Navy during the First World War, stationed at Skapa Flow off Scotland. Her uncle fought in the Somme.

Phyllis did clerical work at a bookbinders before deciding to take an active part in the war effort, joining the WAAF in 1942, aged 19. There she continued her clerical work and, following the war, served for six months in Belgium and Germany.

She got a secretarial job at British European Airways, and attended conferences in glamorous locations such as Cannes and Venice. It was through work that she met her husband Colin. He had served in the RAF but was forced to leave after developing diabetes. The couple married in 1956 and had two children.

Colin died in 1977, and Phyllis says she was too busy for hobbies. She continued working – as a headmaster’s secretary – and joined the Women’s Institute, where she baked cakes for charity.

Phyllis first came to Royal Star & Garter in Surbiton for respite care in 2017. She liked it so much she decided to stay. She will be missed by us all.