Amesbury care home resident celebrates 100th birthday

Margaret Thompson spent a week celebrating the milestone

Author: Aaron HarperPublished 12th Nov 2024

A South Wiltshire woman has marked a very special milestone - reaching her 100th birthday.

Margaret Thompson, a resident at McCarthy Stone retirement development Queen Eleanor Court in Amesbury, was born in October 1924.

In a week-long celebration, Margaret shared coffee and cake with her fellow residents, where she has lived since 2015, before a family party at the care home, gathering with members of her local church lunch with the Lady Captain and other members of her local golf club, Highpost Golf Club in Salisbury.

On reaching this milestone, Margaret said: “I’ve had a really busy and active life and am now enjoying a slower and more comfortable way of living.”

Margaret grew up in Luton and worked in the town during World War Two, admitting that it was “sometimes scary” but that it was her opportunity to play a role at the time.

Margaret married her husband, Geoffrey, who was enlisted in the Fleet Air Arm, and had two children.

Together they travelled across the UK and the Far East before settling in Wiltshire in 1968. Once settled, Margaret and her husband joined the local golf club for exercise and enjoyment and Margaret remains an honorary life member having been the Lady Captain in 1990.

Reflecting on changes she’s seen during her lifetime, Margaret rates the washing machine as the greatest invention for everyday living but added: “The introduction of the NHS and the research and development of modern medicines to prevent childhood illnesses” was so important.

Margaret advised the younger generation to live life to its fullest, describing age as 'just a number'.

She said: “Take advantage of education and have something you believe in.”

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