Page 28 - Herald October 2023

28 THE NEW COUNTESTHORPE HERALD
OCTOBER 2023
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
Ellen Warner (nee Chapman) celebrated her 100th birthday in September. She still lives in the bungalow that she and her husband Ken moved into 57 years ago. The bungalow is built on what was part of the orchard of Chapman’s Farm.
A big family get together started with a meal at The Crown in Gilmorton before adjourning to Ellen’s bungalow. Amongst the guests were her daughter, Alison, and family visiting from America for the special occasion.
Ellen is a regular at the Wednesday Lunch Club at the Methodist Church and they put on a special meal to celebrate the occasion with a grand birthday cake.
Ellen went to the village school next to what is now the Co-op and transferred to Newark Girls school which involved a solitary bus ride. As war broke out she left school and worked for the railways. Her job in the office involved trying to track
Left: Ellen with her birthday card from the King and above in her garden
lost goods.
She finished working for the railways when she married (a double wedding with her sister that the Herald has featured before). Life together began on Westfield Avenue and the couple had two children, Roderick and Alison. Ellen had not expected to return to work but when the head teacher at the village school asked if she could help in the school kitchen to cover a temporary absence, she agreed. This ended up being a 25 year job which included the transfer to the ‘new’ school on Gwendoline Drive.
Ellen has been one of the volunteers that distribute copies of the Herald around the village, this she has done for the past 20 years. Ellen, along with a group including Sylvia Davis were responsible for starting the Rainbow Shop in the village.
Ken Passed away 5 years ago, Ellen had
nursed him through dementia enabling him to remain at home.
He had spent the war as a flight engineer on Lancaster bombers before being demobbed and working for the GPO which became British Telecom. Once he retired the couple enjoyed many different countries on world cruises together.
Ellen attributes her longevity to keeping active and not sitting in a chair to watch the world go by.
Ellen told the Herald back in June 2018 on the occasion of thier platinum Wedding Anniversary “We were married in a double wedding ceremony with my sister Beryl (right hand bride) and her fiancé Ron at St Andrew’s Church by the Rev Harris on May 22nd 1948. It was a lovely sunny day and as it was such a unique occasion many local residents turned out to watch. We understand the Ice Cream man did a roaring trade. The reception was held in the old Village Hall (Stute) and the honeymoon spent at wet and windy Skegness.
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