Volunteer still going strong …at 104!
Super centenarian Beyrl Carr is still going strong … at 104.
The sprightly pensioner celebrated her birthday at the Friends Café at Ealing Hospital where she has volunteered for more than two decades.
Beryl was born in 1922 when George V was on the throne, Gandhi was imprisoned for opposing British rule in India, and archaeologist Howard Carter unearthed Tutankhamun's tomb.
She survived the Blitz during World War Two which included being bombed out of her home and helped the war effort by sewing barrage balloons and working as a fire watcher as German bombs fell on the capital.
“We spent a lot of time in the bomb shelter in our back garden and one of the nights we chanced sleeping inside there was an air raid and the house was hit. I ended up under a cupboard covered in plaster.”
“Volunteering gave me a new lease on life and it is something I would recommend to anyone regardless of their age.”
Ann Cousins, who runs the Friends Café, added, “Beryl is a bit of an institution in the hospital. Everyone knows who she is and loves chatting with her.”