Little Pixie who trained D-Day troops can't 6 believe' she's 100

SECOND World War heroine Dorothea Barron will turn 100 in her own indomitable way - by hosting a party for the few remaining veterans of the Greatest Generation.

- Giles Sheldrick

Dorothea, whose nickname is Pixie, lied about her height as a teenager so she could join the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) in 1943.

She went on to play a crucial part in the development of Mulberry harbours, through which two million soldiers, four million tons of supplies and 500,000 vehicles passed to liberate western Europe in the Battle of Normandy.

Preparing for her birthday today, she said: "I certainly don't feel 100 years old but can't quite believe I have reached three figures." Dorothea, from Bishops Stortford, Herts, was so keen to sign up she piled her hair up and stuffed cardboard in her shoes. She said: "I really shouldn't have been in the services.