A centenarian from Consett who heard D-Day on the radio and has a birthday card from the late Queen turned 103 on Wednesday.
Margaret Haswell went from growing up in an Edinburgh school for orphans to becoming a Corporal in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force during World War Two.
Born on January 15 1922, Margaret attended Donaldson’s School with her brother, with their grandparents looking after them. After leaving school, she became a housemaid, but soon joined the WAAF as the Second World War began, training as a wireless radio operator.
She was stationed across the country, but her time spent in Ouston, County Durham was her first experience of living in the North East. At the end of the war, after leaving the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, Margaret worked as a welder in Team Valley, and eventually settled in Gateshead.
103-year-old Margaret Haswell who lives in Consett, County Durham
(Image: Chronicle Live)
When she was in her 80s, Margaret visited Saudi Arabia for five years in a row, often travelling by herself, and staying with family in the country. She would stay for months at a time, and really enjoyed her experience, often visiting the local library.
Margaret’s daughter Anne Wilkinson, 78, has spoken about her mum’s life, saying: “She has told me that she will always remember hearing people going onto the beaches during D-Day, as well as the planes that would fly over her head on the way to France, it has also stayed in her mind.
“She’s still very independent for her age, as it was only really last year that she has stopped cooking for herself and things like that. Most people that meet mum can’t believe that she’s 103.
“She has enjoyed her life, and the thing she loves doing the most now is playing a little game of bingo. She still plays with six cards, and everyone knows her at the church hall where we go, so it’s amazing that she is still able to do this, and hopefully she will keep playing for a while yet.”
Having received her 100th birthday card from the late Queen Elizabeth II back in January of 2022, Margaret has had a huge, long-standing impact on her family and friends, with granddaughter Deborah Melvin describing her as an “amazing grandma”.
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