Joan Stafford-King-Harman facts for kids

Cecily Joan Stafford-King-Harman (born 7 March 1918 – died 12 July 2018) was an English woman who lived to be 100 years old. She was known as Mrs Dennehy and later Lady Dunn. She was also one of the very first women to work for MI6, which is a secret intelligence agency.

Early Life and Meeting Hitler

Joan Stafford-King-Harman was the daughter of Sir Cecil Stafford-King-Harman, a well-known figure from Rockingham in County Roscommon, Ireland. Her mother was Sarah Beatrice Acland. In 1935, when she was 17, she became part of London's high society.

During the 1930s, she visited Germany. She met Adolf Hitler there. By the time she passed away, she was one of the last people alive who had met Hitler in person.

Working for MI6

When Second World War started in 1939, Joan volunteered to help with Air Raid Precautions (ARP). This group helped protect people during air attacks. Because she was very good at speaking German, she was asked to join MI6. This is the United Kingdom's foreign intelligence service, which gathers secret information from other countries.

She worked alongside another famous person, Kim Philby, who was also an intelligence officer. Later, her department moved to Bletchley Park. This was a top-secret place where codebreakers worked during the war. While there, she also met Ian Fleming, who later became a famous author. He wrote the James Bond books!

Family Life

In 1943, Joan married Captain George Dennehy. He was a soldier in the Irish Guards and later became a lawyer. They had four daughters together: Rosemary, Sarah, Mary, and Caroline. Captain Dennehy passed away in 1990. By the time Joan died, she had a very large family, including 16 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren!

In 1997, she married her second husband, Sir Robin Dunn. He was a judge whom she had known since they were children. Sir Robin had three children from his first marriage. He passed away in 2014. Lady Dunn spent her final years living in a care home in Shrewsbury.