A FORMER Woburn artist who left her Leighton Road home of more than 50 years to live with her son at Barton-on-Sea on the south coast has died aged 94.
Josephine Mahoney of Birdcatcher’s Cottage passed away on May 2.
Elsie Margaret Mahoney was born in Cambridgeshire in 1914 and Josephine was soon adopted as her first name.
She trained as a milliner, designing hats and then dresses, with her d
rawings being sold mainly in Paris.
At the outbreak of World War Two, she joined the Women’s Auxillary Air Force and worked in Bomber Command, interpreting aerial photographs.
She went on to work for the Special Operation Executive and specialised in selecting landing sites for air drops from aircraft carrying secret agents in support of the French resistance.
Later she transferred to Bletchley Park for decoding work and was billeted in Woburn where she found a tiny vacant thatched cottage previously occupied by a man who kept birds.
Her wartime marriage ended in divorce and in 1947 she married John Edward Mahoney O.B.E. – a civil engineer.
They drove to Paris for their honeymoon and saw a spectacular show at the Casino de Paris before motoring across France and over The Alps to Monte Carlo where they stayed at the sumptuous Prince’s Palace and played roulette in the evenings.
On their return, they settled into Birdcatcher’s Cottage.
Josephine was a smiling sociable person who enjoyed the company of other people, supported her local church and opened her garden to the public for one-day in the summer. She was an artist and held several exhibitions.
She is survived by five sons.
