Former nurse Hilda Richards, from Ruabon, who cared for soldiers injured in the Battle of Dunkirk, to celebrate 103rd birthday on November 10

Hilda Richards was born in Ruabon on November 10 in 1917, almost a year to the day before the end of the First World War.

Fast forward to World War Two and Hilda was a 23-year-old State Registered Nurse working at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Hospital when soldiers injured at Dunkirk were ferried around the coast and up the Mersey to be treated there.

Hilda vividly remembers the injured soldiers, many in battle dress torn to shreds and having suffered horrific burns, being brought in on stretchers and laid out in rows.

It was a real eye-opener for Hilda who was born and brought up in a cottage on the Wynnstay Estate, Ruabon.

She recalls: "Looking after gravely wounded soldiers from Dunkirk was an awful job but one I was privileged to do.

"It was so sad, as the state many were in was horrible, especially the burns.

"I then transferred to Wrexham General Emergency Hospital in 1942 when I married my late husband, Trevor, who was serving in France.

"We had children from Alder Hey Hospital sent across the Mersey to us to escape the bombing.

"We also had two Jewish doctors who had escaped the Holocaust and found their way to Britain.

"We treated soldiers from all the allies, Americans and Canadians, not just British."

Great-great grandmother Hilda and her late husband Trevor took to travelling the world after she retired in the 1980s.

The couple rented cabins on cargo ships at a time when the cruise industry was in its infancy and prohibitively expensive.

On one memorable voyage they sailed inside the Iron Curtain and into the Soviet Union at a time when the Cold War was just starting to thaw.

Their travels also took them to America, South America, Canada, Africa and even to India when they had their picture taken on the same bench that would become famous when Princess Diana sat on it many years later.

After Trevor died 10 years ago, Mrs Richards lived alone until February of this year when she moved to Pendine Park’s Gwern Alyn Care Home where she says she is 'very happy'.

She said: "Before the war, Trevor worked at Cranes, the music shop, as a pianist and a salesman before he was called up to the Tank Regiment.

"Trevor and I had three sons, Derek, who is now 70 and living in Gloucester, and Clive, who is now 54 and living near Canterbury, both served more than 30 years each in the RAF and are now retired.

"Our other son Ralph, who is in his 60s lives near Kidderminster.

"I have four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

"I stayed at home after having my boys and only went back to work after they started at school.

"I got a job as a laboratory assistant and school nurse at Ruabon Grammar School where I worked until I retired.

"Trevor and I took up travelling as a hobby and we ended up going all around the world.

"They didn’t have massive cruise ships like you get now and it was way too expensive and out of our reach."

She added: "It’s a shame this awful virus came along as I can’t go out for a walk now or enjoy family visits. But I’m happy and have all my memories."

Gwern Alyn manager, Cindy Clutton, stated that Hilda is popular resident who has led an extraordinary life.

She said: "Hilda really is an incredible woman who has done so much in her life.

"I can’t imagine what she went through nursing soldiers injured at Dunkirk and civilians injured in the Blitz.

"She has a remarkable memory and can recall in vivid detail what she and her fellow nurses went through before, during and after the war.

"Hearing all about her and Trevor, her husband’s travel exploits doesn’t surprise me in any way.

"She really is an amazing woman."