Robbed grandmother was Second World War Army nurse

Tara Brady Friday, September 14, 2012
3:26 PM

The 91-year-old grandmother who was robbed for just £20 near her Highgate home served as an Army nurse during the Second World War.

It has emerged that Lynne Elmer-Laird, an enthusiastic member of the Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution, had to undergo an emergency operation to remove a blood clot from her brain following the attack on August 14.

She has since been released from hospital and is back home recovering from her ordeal.

Today Eric Banton from Tottenham appeared at Wood Green Crown Court to plead guilty to robbery.

Members of the community, including the congregation at Mrs Elmer-Laird’s nearby church, are wishing her a speedy recovery.

The Reverend Dr Jonathan Trigg, of All Saints Church, in Talbot Road, Highgate, praised Mrs Elmer-Laird’s courage.

He said: “She has been immensely brave. Of course she was shaken up, but she attended a social here on Saturday.

“She has been a member of the congregation here for a very long time. She is an amazing woman.”

Mrs Elmer-Laird, who served as a nurse in the South Pacific during the war, had been shopping in nearby Archway Road on the afternoon she was attacked.

Shopkeepers have spoken of their shock following the brutal assault. A shop assistant at Hayward Pharmacy, who gave her name as Christina, said: “Lynne comes here very often.

“We’re all very shocked. You never know if someone is watching over your shoulder.”

Mrs Elmer-Laird suffered severe bruising and swelling to her face, neck, shoulder and leg and her arm was broken in the attack in which her bank card and bus pass were also stolen.