100-year-old marks her landmark in style

A woman who has lived in Bury St Edmunds all her life and loves curry and chips and consumes a drop of brandy in her tea every night before bed has celebrated her 100th birthday in style along with family and friends.

Winifred Wood (Winnie) was born on January 26, 1919, one of 14 children born to George and Mary Bull.

She is only sibling still alive and has lived in Bury all her life having been born and grew up in Cannon Street.

After her marriage she moved to Rutland Square with her husband David and eight children.

For most of her life she was a loving wife and mother but later on worked part time at Sainsbury’s in town and worked in a munitions factory during the Second World War.

She had many friends at the Railway Club where her husband was the steward for over 20 years before his retirement and she would go to ladies club and play bingo.

Winnie now lives in Redwood Gardens, in Cotton Lane, and a special birthday party where residents and members of her amazingly large family attended – she has 26 grandchildren, eight great grandchildren and six great great grandchildren. Fifteen family members visited from Ireland and a grandson flew over from America.

And so to Winnie’s favourite activities as a centenarian with a card and message from Her Majesty. She loves to visit the Sue Ryder shop in town to shop, have a cuppa. and is known to break into song with “One Day When We Were Young!” And her other favourite activity – her weekly visit to the Tollgate Inn for curry and chip.

Her daughter Sandra said of her mother: “She believes the most important thing is to love and be loved.”