CREDITON resident, Mrs Yvonne Taylor, celebrated her 100th birthday on Friday, May 1, at Kenwyn Residential Home.  

Born in Exeter, Yvonne remembers the Exeter Blitz and picking her way through the firemen’s hoses in the city centre to get to work the following morning. 

In 1944 she married Philip and moved to Reading, his hometown where their son, Ian was born the following year.  Yvonne worked in a local shop and also did secretarial work and the whole family enjoyed being involved in local amateur dramatics, Yvonne on stage. 

Ian married Jan in 1971 and in 1974,  they and their baby daughter moved to Crediton.  

Yvonne and Philip visited frequently over the years and, in 1994 during a visit to celebrate their Golden Wedding they found a bungalow in Crediton and moved there in the early part of 1995.  

They joined a short mat bowling club and Yvonne, a keen gardener, also joined the gardening club.  By now there were two grown up grandchildren and then great grandchildren to help look after.  Yvonne loved knitting and the whole family benefitted.

She was a good cook and no family gathering was complete without her lemon mousse, cakes and biscuits.

Unfortunately, in 2004, Philip passed away but Yvonne continued to live at the bungalow and kept the garden looking beautiful and still enjoyed knitting and cooking for family.  

Just before Christmas last year, Yvonne had a couple of bad falls at home and moved into Kenwyn after a short stay in hospital.  The family said that the carers there have been wonderful and she has settled in well.

Despite having her 100th birthday during the coronavirus lockdown, the staff at Kenwyn made it a really special day for her.