School children sing happy birthday to centenarian from care home garden

School children gathered in the garden of a care home in Wendover to sing a 'socially distanced' happy birthday to Ena Stanton who has reached 100.

Ms Stanton who resides at Cherry Tree House also enjoyed a visit from her godson, received a birthday card from the Queen and enjoyed celebrating with staff and fellow residents.

Jenny Bloomberg, care relations manager for Salveo Care said: “We would like to thank our local community for sending cards, paintings and best wishes messages via our Facebook page.”

After leaving school at 14, Ena Stanton got a job with the local paper as a ‘girl Friday’ and eventually became the senior secretary working in that role for 21 years.

Ms Stanton would like a further get together to celebrate once lockdown is over

During the second world war, Ms Stanton lived and worked in East London. This was heavily bombed with flying bombs and rockets bombarding the area day and night.

Working for the newspaper during the war years required being a night-time fire watcher. Two men and two women would go onto the roof of the building amidst the bombing and keep watch for fires that might affect the building.

After the war another job opportunity arose as PA to the chairman of a large departmental store. Ms Stanton spent five years with the store before meeting and marrying her husband Walter (Wally) Stanton and moving to Chislehurst in Kent to live. Eventually her husband’s work brought about a move to Berkshire and then in the early 1980s to Halton Village, Wendover.

Her husband Wally died in 1994 leaving Ms Stanton to live alone. In 2019, Ms Stanton moved into residential care in Cherry Tree House.

Ms Stanton’s main passion is singing and amateur dramatics and she has enjoyed many singing roles in amateur operatic societies and church choirs.

Ms Stanton is hoping once lockdown is fully over, her family, old friends and neighbours can all celebrate her 100th birthday with her.