Eight decades after she served with the Auxiliary Fire Service as the Luftwaffe bombed her home city of Bristol, the great-great-grandmother has been awarded her Defence Medal.
Her long-awaited Second World War honour has been engraved with the name and image of the then monarch, King George VI.
Tears
Ula, who lives in a nursing home, said: "I'm going to remember this for the rest of my life." Her daughter Debbie said the presentation brought "tears to her eyes" as the recognition "was long overdue".
Her mother had joined the AFS at 18 in 1940 and worked under extreme pressure, deploying fire crews to where they were most needed during the war. Fires caused by bombing had to be put out immediately or they would highlight targets for the next wave of planes in the blackout.
Bristol was a big target for the Nazis due to its docks and Bristol Aeroplane Company factory.
It was the fifth most-bombed British city of the war, and 77 air raids from November 1940 to April 1941 killed 1,299 people and wounded 1,303.
Ula's daughter Debbie said of the medal: "I knew how much it would mean to Mum after 80 years.
"If she was off duty and at home when an air raid siren went off, she had to race back down to Avonmouth.
"Her father had made steel heel tips for her and used to speak of seeing sparks flying off her shoes as she ran down the road. She must have been very scared but she has always preferred not to dwell on that and instead speak of happier experiences.
"She organised troop entertainments using her singing, dancing and acting talents to boost forces' morale. O...
Her long-awaited Second World War honour has been engraved with the name and image of the then monarch, King George VI.
Tears
Ula, who lives in a nursing home, said: "I'm going to remember this for the rest of my life." Her daughter Debbie said the presentation brought "tears to her eyes" as the recognition "was long overdue".
Her mother had joined the AFS at 18 in 1940 and worked under extreme pressure, deploying fire crews to where they were most needed during the war. Fires caused by bombing had to be put out immediately or they would highlight targets for the next wave of planes in the blackout.
Bristol was a big target for the Nazis due to its docks and Bristol Aeroplane Company factory.
It was the fifth most-bombed British city of the war, and 77 air raids from November 1940 to April 1941 killed 1,299 people and wounded 1,303.
Ula's daughter Debbie said of the medal: "I knew how much it would mean to Mum after 80 years.
"If she was off duty and at home when an air raid siren went off, she had to race back down to Avonmouth.
"Her father had made steel heel tips for her and used to speak of seeing sparks flying off her shoes as she ran down the road. She must have been very scared but she has always preferred not to dwell on that and instead speak of happier experiences.
"She organised troop entertainments using her singing, dancing and acting talents to boost forces' morale. O...
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Daily Express (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 26, 2025