Two Searcys Cakes 77 years apart to mark a very special 100th Birthday

Christian Lamb, a former WW2 Women’s Royal Naval Veteran who worked on D Day Maps at Churchill’s Secret Offices will mark her 100th birthday on Friday 24 July, with a Searcys cake. We are extremely proud to have made her wedding cake in WW2 in 1943.

When we were approached by one of our former customers’ family to help celebrate her 100th will become, we immediately agreed. 

Paul Jackson, Managing Director, 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. We hope that Christian and her family enjoy Searcys hospitality.”

Christian will celebrate her 100th Birthday with her daughter and a small gathering of friends. The big surprise for her will be the delivery of a birthday cake made by our very own chefs.  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. Friends and family supplied the rationed fruit and a beautiful cake was made by Searcys – which she says she has never forgotten. 

“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 and booked the church St James, Spanish Place, the reception at the English Speaking Union, ordered a marvellous 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 marvellous day.”

From: I Only Joined for the Hat!

by Christian Lamb Available from www.christianlamb.co.uk

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 an 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.