Susan Nona Hibbert (née Heald; 21 May 1924 – 2 February 2009) was one of the secretaries who typed the English versions of the German surrender document at the conclusion of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After her death, there was believed to be only one surviving witness to the surrender ceremony, Albert Meserlin, who died the following month, on 29 March 2009. Hibbert was born the elder child of Sir Lionel Heald (1897–1981) and his first wife, Flavia Forbes (1902–1959), daughter of Lt.-Col. James Stewart Forbes and Lady Angela St Clair-Erskine. Through her maternal grandmother, Hibbert was a great-grandchild of Robert St Clair-Erskine, 4th Earl of Rosslyn. She was educated at Godolphin School, Salisbury.Obituary
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Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'', 17 February 2009. During the

Heald served as a sergeant in the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service. She was assigned to type the English version of the German surrender. Three other secretaries typed the French, German and Russian versions. She and the other typists were present at the signing ceremony. Another assignment she received was to type the message informing the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

in London that the war was over. Later she worked in the

Allied Control Commission Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany, Italy and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far ...

, first in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, and then in

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, where she met her husband Basil, a former RAF

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

. In 1950, her father Lionel Heald was elected as member of parliament for Chertsey, subsequently serving for two years as

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Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

's final administration. Susan became his secretary, and continued to work at Westminster for him and other Conservative members for the next 35 years. Her husband, Basil, a former RAF pilot, died in 2001; the couple had no children.

References

BBC article
4 May 2005

''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 18 February 2009
Obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 21 February 2009 * Sir George Young
Article on Susan
an
Funeral tribute
February 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hibbert, Susan 1924 births 2009 deaths Auxiliary Territorial Service soldiers People educated at Godolphin School Place of birth missing Place of death missing