Generations come together to revive tea party group which first inspired Ella to reach for the sky.

When Ella Coates was just five years old she would listen intently as Chelmsford tea party guests regaled her with stories of times gone by. And she paid particular attention to Valerie Anderson, who had wonderful tales of the Second World War and how she desperately wanted to fly aircraft. Now, Ella is 13, and has started training to become a pilot with the ultimate aim of becoming a Top Gun.

Her mum, Nicola Kindell-Coates, a Re-engage host, said: “Ella absolutely loved going to the tea parties and the ladies were always delighted to see her. She must have gone to around 100 over the years and couldn’t wait to get dressed up for the occasions.

“Ella was always listening to their stories and chatting to them and she gained so much knowledge. Her teachers used to be amazed at how much history she knew at such a young age.

“She always listened in particular to Val and about her love of flying and now she’s heading that same way. It’s brilliant.”

Valerie, who spent the war years checking equipment for iconic Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes and Lancaster bombers, said: “I love going to the tea parties and I remember Ella very well. It would be such a treat to see her again and I’m so thrilled that she’s following my dream of becoming a pilot.”

Valerie, whose husband, Vincent, died more than 40 years ago, wanted to join the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force when war broke out but instead was recruited for the optical laboratory at the Ministry of Aircraft Production in Harefield, Middlesex.

There she helped test bomb and gun sights for the aircraft that helped the RAF win the Battle of Britain and beyond.

“My father was in the Royal Observer Corps,” added Valerie, who lives in Chelmsford. “He had to be able to recognise every aircraft there was so he could spot the enemy planes coming in and pass the information to the control room where all the movements were being plotted.

“I would often sit with him while he was studying the aircraft and so I learned about them as well. Flying was in our blood.

“My work meant I was based in Harefield and so only got home to Canterbury in Kent every third weekend. While I was on the train I would often watch the German doodle bugs (rocket-fired flying bombs) going by on the way to one of their targets. And I saw the fighter planes battling it out with some of them being shot down and pilots parachuting down to the ground. It was quite a time.”

The Chelmsford 2 group had to stop meeting for a while following the Covid-19 pandemic, but now plans are in full swing to revive the tea parties.

“It’s going to be great,” added Nicola. “Lots of us are really looking forward to getting together again.”