TRIBUTES have been paid to a former Lady Mayoress of York who served in the Army as a plane spotter during the Second World War.

Ena Archer died at the age of 87 on May 7, only two months after the death of her husband, Jack, who was well-known in York as a tireless fighter for the rights of older people.

The couple had been married for 66 years and their daughter, Brenda Brooking, said her mother missed her husband terribly after his death.

She said: “When dad died, it was really too much for her. Mum just wanted to be with him and after he died, she went downhill very quickly.”

Mrs Archer, who lived at South Bank Care Home in Gale Lane, Acomb, was born in Bismarck Street, York, on May 9, 1922, and went to Poppleton Road Primary School.

She started working at York’s Rowntree factory after leaving school aged 14 and then joined the Army in January 1941 after turning 18. She was part of an anti-aircraft battery, working as a plane spotter, and rose to the rank of corporal before leaving the Army in 1945. She cared for her mother for 17 years and enjoyed two spells as Lady Mayoress, from 1976-77 and 1989-90, playing a leading role in raising funds for her husband’s chosen charities.

In November 1989, while still Lady Mayoress, Mrs Archer suffered a blood clot on her lung following a fall and never fully recovered.

Brenda said: “She was in hospital for 96 days and had to learn to walk and talk again.

She was so determined to walk, but she could never read and write again.

“Dad looked after her for 15 years before she moved into the care home.”

She said she would always remember her mother for her “wicked sense of humour” and for the support she was to her father in his various political and community roles. A funeral service was taking place today at 3.30pm in York Crematorium.