6:00am Saturday 23rd February 2013
By Rachel Bishop
A Twickenham woman celebrated her birthday in style last week – with 100 balloons, a 100-shaped cake and a home filled with champagne and flowers.
Ethel Ellen Berry, who has lived in the borough for 60 years, celebrated with 70 family and friends when she turned 100 on Friday, February 15.
Mrs Berry, who is a staunch supporter of the Queen, was absolutely delighted to receive a card of congratulations from Her Majesty, as well as a telegram from Ian Duncan Smith.
The centurion was born on February 15, 1913, and has lived through two world wars. She can remember her mother working in a munitions factory in 1917 and married her husband Ethelred Palmer Berry at Saint Ethelreda’s Church in Fulham.
Mrs Berry celebrated her big day with her daughter, Annette Pearce and her son, Anthony Berry, along with her eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
Anthony said: “(She) remembers life without electricity, the telephone, the television, the aeroplane or the computer and still delights in her first enduring entertainment – the crossword puzzle.”
When asked what the secret to her longevity is, her son said she beamed and said: “Keeping the mind active, enjoying life, eating well and having a drop of sherry in the evenings. A little bit of what you fancy does you good.”
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