Christian Lamb, a former WW2 Women’s Royal Naval Veteran who worked on D Day Maps at Churchill’s Secret Offices marked her 100th birthday on 24 July, with a Searcys cake provided by the same company that made her wedding cake in WW2 in 1943.
Christian celebrated her 100th Birthday with her daughter and a small gathering of friends. A big surprise for her was the delivery of a birthday cake from Searcys, the same London company she bought her Wedding Cake from in the middle of WW2. She married Lt. Commander John Lamb (his Destroyer rammed a U Boat in WW2) in 1943, they met during the war and were engaged after 10 days. Their wedding cake was the centrepiece of a wartime wedding. Friend and family supplied the rationed fruit and a beautiful cake was made by Searcys – she has never forgotten it.
Now Searcys have heard about their former wartime customer, we immediately agreed to provide her cake for 100th birthday Tea party with her daughter. The cake was delivered on Fri 24th July and with the fond and generous compliments of Searcys.
“In between all the official and warlike Combined Operations was a more personal, celebratory and combined operation, when John and I were married in London. Working on the possible date of John’s Destroyer Ship Oribi’s next boiler clean, 15th December 1943, my mother had taken the huge gamble in complete confidence, regardless of the Admiralty, the war and any other extraneous circumstances. She had booked the church St James, Spanish Place, the reception at the English Speaking Union, ordered a marvelous cake to be made by Searcys (of Sloan Street) possibly with black market dried fruit supplied by friends , extracted clothing coupons from anyone she could browbeat-it was a marvelous day.”
From: I Only Joined for the Hat!
by Christian Lamb
Available from
PAUL JACKSON, MD, Searcys, says:
“Searcys has been honoured to be able to celebrate not one, but two special occasions in Christian’s life – her wedding in 1943 and her 100th Birthday. Our story began 173 years ago, when a talented confectioner went on to start one of the first event catering businesses in Victorian England. The company’s reputation grew and we became synonymous with weddings and celebrations, which is continuing to this day. Our in-house baker Yvonne Graham has created the 100th birthday cake taking inspiration from Christian’s passion for botany.”
About Christian Lamb
Christian Lamb (nee Oldham) was born in July 1920 as the Spanish Flu Pandemic wound towards its close. She was the daughter of an Admiral and the sea was in her blood.
In 1939 she joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service and was promoted to Officer, she was in London throughout the heavy blitz of 1940/41 and was lucky to survive.
She was officer in charge of Plotting in a watch room for the Battle of the Atlantic, it was here that she met her husband Lt.Commander John Lamb DSC.
They married in 1943 and Christian moved back to London to work on D Day Landing craft maps in secrecy at Churchill’s offices at Whitehall.
In 1944 their daughter was born and she left the WRNS after D Day and went on to have two other children.
Christian is a widow, Grandmother and Great Grandmother who has written four books since becoming 80, she is an authority on botanical history.
Discover more at www.christianlamb.co.uk
About Searcys
Searcys’ iconic restaurants, Champagne bars and events have a world-renowned, long-standing reputation for quality and innovation. One of the first British event caterers, founded in 1847 by John Searcy, the company has carved out a name as brave market- leaders. Searcys has launched bold, pioneering concepts including the original in-station Champagne bar at Kings Cross St. Pancras, one of London’s first skyscraper restaurants, Helix, as well as cafés and restaurants in two World Heritage Sites. Their 30 plus venues across the UK serve fresh, modern dishes that focus on sustainability, local produce and world-class service standards.
Bars and restaurants: St Pancras Brasserie and Champagne Bar, Helix restaurant and Iris bar at the Gherkin, Osteria and Bonfire at the Barbican, Saatchi Bar and Brasserie, The Pump Room in Bath, The Orangery at Blenheim Palace.
Venues: 11 Cavendish Square, The Royal Institution, the Barbican, Vintners’ Hall, 30 Euston Square, National Army Museum, Blenheim Palace, One Moorgate Place, The Roman Baths, The HAC.
Discover more at www.searcys.co.uk
In summer 1939, one of Searcys directors wrote to the Ministry of Works and asked whether he should stop catering for events in view of the ‘luxury’ nature of the trade. But he was told to do nothing of the sort, there was a place for outdoor catering on the home front even in a war. Searcys was also asked to open a restaurant for war workers on the first floor of 19 Sloane Street.
Most of Searcys staff went to join the forces. One of the managers, H.G. Knill, went into the Royal Air Force to become a squadron leader. The company directors joined the Air Raid Precautions Service from its formation and remained until the end of the war.
As war became imminent, Searcys stocks of Champagne, were all but depleted. Instead, partygoers used their rations of gin and Searcys supplied bottles of cider. The mixture of the two became a heady ‘champagne substitute’. Weddings were celebrated in the most modest ways, as the times demanded. Brides spent their rations on currants and brought them to Searcys to decorate their wedding cake. Sugar was in even shorter supply. There was never enough to put on the sides as well as the top, so fancy paper was wrapped around the sides for decoration.
It is a little-known fact that Searcys also took part in morale-boosting daily lunch concert held at the National Gallery throughout the war. These were the idea of the pianist Myra Hess who launched the scheme with a recital and planned all the programmes. Myra Hess was an accomplished pianist of high renown.
Christian Lamb also attended these famous concerts in her lunch hour from the WRNS
