As we celebrate International Women's Day, the names of many great women come to mind – mathematician Ada Lovelace, scientists Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin, as well as the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, and poet and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou.

But there are also many unsung heroines who have quietly taken a place on the world stage, never seeking recognition for their vital work. I’m pleased to say that Re-engage supports two of these remarkable women, who both played a vital role in World War II.

Barbara Southerland, 98, who is a regular guest at the Enfield and Southgate tea parties and Phyllis Bunting, 101, who maintains a link to the outside world via her treasured Re-engage Call Companion, were both code-breakers, helping intercept secret messages from the German military. Barbara was 18 when she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service and only revealed her crucial role at a recent tea party. Details were then passed on until finally she received recognition for the contribution she had made to work at the world famous Bletchley Park listening centre and received a certificate from then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. After the death of Peter, her husband of 67 years, Barbara became isolated and didn’t go out. Then someone recommended the Re-engage tea party group which has become her 'life saver.’

Phyllis was just 17 when she signed up for military service and was advised she should make sacks for the war effort. Not unreasonably, Phyllis thought she could do better than that, and volunteered for the Telecommunications Research Establishment, which was described by one scientist as ‘the most brilliant and successful’ of wartime departments. Despite having close family, including four grandchildren, she still feels lonely. But this is alleviated by regular contact from her Call Companion. She enjoys the conversations about everyday things which mean ‘life isn’t all bad.’

And I should also mention the unstinting volunteering of Anne Sander, who 60 years ago helped our founder Trevor Lyttleton launch the tea parties which have helped bring together thousands of lonely older people. Anne is 85 and still helps organise the Westminster 1 tea parties. Until recent years she was also a Re-engage volunteer driver. She said: “I’ve had lots of fun, met many interesting people and made plenty of friends. I’ve been to hundreds of tea parties and I never get fed up with them.”

“When we began I didn’t foresee anything that could stop us and so it has proved to be. We’ve gone from strength to strength. I feel very proud of what we have achieved and there’s great satisfaction in knowing we have done something worthwhile. We’ve made a lot of older people very happy and that’s nice.

"Re-engage is proud to have thousands of women who volunteer to help our older people at tea parties, and through our call befriending services and activity groups; I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you - your names might not be up in lights but your support is priceless."