THE Daily Echo will always hold a special place in the heart of Eileen Percy, who has just celebrated her 90th birthday.

Eileen, who is known by hundreds of people in the Winches-ter area, spent more than 40 years running the Echo office in the city with her late husband, Harold Percy - an outstanding Hampshire journalist.

Although her memory often fails her now, Eileen will never forget her life in the High Street in bygone days, when milk was delivered to the office by horse and cart and her cat, Candy, sat on the counter to greet the customers.

"We lived in rooms around the office and it was lovely being right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the High Street," she said.

"Everyone used to come to the Echo to buy their newspapers and place adverts - or just to gossip, because I knew about everything that was going on."

Eileen, who was born in Huntingdon, lived in Salisbury where she met her husband, before moving to the Isle of Wight, where the couple took charge of the Echo's Newport office.

Just before the war Harold was appointed manager and reporter-in-charge at Winche-ster, while Eileen was put in charge of the administration work.

But the war days proved extremely busy for Eileen at the office, as Harold served with the Home Guard before joining the Royal Army Service Corps, in which he served in the liberation of Europe.

"I remember we had to have blinds up at the office windows like all the other shops, but we were still very busy because everyone wanted to buy the newspaper then to find out what was happening in the war," added Eileen.

When the Echo moved to its existing office, at Upper Brook Street, in the early 1960s, the Percys moved with it and continued serving local readers until Harold's death in 1970.

Eileen, who has a son, a daughter, nine grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren, then decided to buy a home at Austen Avenue, in Oliver's Battery, where she now lives with her daughter and grand-daughter.

"I still go to the High Street now and again, but it is different now - it has changed a lot," Eileen reflected. "I do miss the old High Street as it used to be, but I still get the Daily Echo every day and still love reading it."

Next to reading the Echo, Eileen also loves travelling and is looking forward to visiting Lourdes and Spain early next year.

She was planning to celebrate her birthday this weekend with family and friends, as well as enjoying her favourite foods - porridge, soup and ice-cream.

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