2 weeks Ago
What’s the secret to living over 100 ? If you ask Daphne Coldridge - who’s just turned 102 - she’d probably just laugh. Daphne was born in Watford in 1923 but moved to Radcliffe after the war, where she’s lived for about 70 years. Her grandson Kenny, 42, said his grandmother “has lived a fun-filled life with family” and “loves a party”– but has also shown great strength over the years.
He said: “When my nan was 19, the Second World War started and she went to serve in the Women's Royal Naval Service. "She then worked in a factory making parts for tanks. “She had been very shy as a teenager but loved to tap dance.
"She even performed on stage in a few places around Watford and London. “She’d had a great life growing up in Watford and loved to swim and go to the park with family. “But when the first bomb dropped in London, she said it was a very scary time.
” Daphne Coldridge and 5-month-old great-great-granddaughter Darcie (Image: Newsquest) During the war, Daphne met her husband, Kenneth, who would be the only partner in her life. Kenny said: “My granddad, who I’m named after, served in the navy during the war and got injured. A bomb went off at the side of his ship and exploded in his face.
“He recovered for some time but went on to have multiple sclerosis and cancer in his 40s. “But my grandparents had a great life together. They moved to Radcliffe in 1952 and had two sons.
“And my nan started working as a seamstress and made a lot of clothing. “Her other job was making silver jewellery, which she only stopped doing when she retired and had to care for my granddad after he became ill. “She has always looked after people – from her sister to many of her friends.
She’s very caring.” Daphne has also loved spending time with her grandsons, Kenny, Geoff and Lee. Left to right: Darcie Coldridge, Daphne Coldridge, Kenny Coldridge, Bev Winstanley, Kai Coldridge, Kayden Coldridge, Beverley Coldridge (Image: Newsquest) Kenny said: “My nan and I have always had a strong bond.
When I was a child, she used to take us all away on holiday and then book another week just to spend time with me. “We used to go to Cala Gran Holiday Park in a caravan just the two of us, and visit Blackpool, Fleetwood and Cleveleys.” And Daphne has always had a sense of fun.
He said: “My nan has always loved to go on the fruit machines, she could spend a full day in there. “Even in later life, when she’d be on the way to our house for tea, she’d say, ‘Oh, I’m just waiting for bus,’ but you could hear the fruit machine paying out.” Maybe a long life is down to being surrounded by loved ones.
There are now five generations of Coldridges, including five-month-old Darcie, who’s made Daphne a happy great-great-grandmother. Kenny said: “We’ve always had a strong, tight-knit family. She is our matriarch.
“We’ve all lived close to each other in the same part of Radcliffe.” And Daphne lived independently until age the 100 when she moved to Rose Court Care Home. When asked about his grandmother’s secret to a long life, Kenny said: “She’s never really drunk other than the odd Advocaat or Snowball.
She doesn’t eat too much but she loves her food – like a scampi and chips or a good lamb roast dinner. “Maybe it’s that she’s only been interested in one man, my granddad. Her saying is ‘I want nourishment not punishment’.
” Kath Brown, a care assistant at Rose Court, said: “Daphne’s a very strong person. She was very ill last year but has pulled herself back to fighting fit. “She loves to chat and has a great sense of humour.
“But every time I ask her what her secret to living to over 100 is, she just laughs at me.”.
