ALICE Scott celebrated her 100th birthday in fine style with a party at St Anne's Residential Home, Saltash. She celebrated with her five children, and many other members of her family who had travelled from various parts of the country for the occasion. Alice was born in Kent but later the family moved to Brighton and she attended Elm Grove School, leaving at the age of 13 to become a nursemaid looking after a baby a few months old. Later, she went to work at Marks and Spencer for the next seven and a half years, starting at a counter hand for three months, then she was promoted to floor walker, managing 40 other young women before becoming a widow dresser. After dressing her first window, the next morning she got off a bus and saw crowds outside the store. Her window had collapsed and everything had smashed! She was still working at the store when she met her future husband Ronald, whose family also lived in Brighton, and he worked as a car salesman and demonstrator. They were married in 1929 in Brighton and, soon after, they moved to Plymouth where the Scott family had naval connections. Ron's father, grandfather, and brother were all in the navy. The couple had six children but, sadly, son Tony died just three years ago aged 73. Ron, Alice's husband, died 25 years ago. The four other sons, Derek, Brian, Noel, Ian, and Alice's only daughter, Dianne Dure, were at the birthday party on Wednesday, September 27. Alice has ten grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren and many of them were at the celebration. The youngest greatgrandchild is Grace Scott, aged 16 months, living in Kent and was not able to be at the party. Alice lived through the Blitz in Plymouth in spite of incendiary bombs destroying two top rooms in houses each side of them. Ron was in the RAF at the time and during the bombing, like many Plymouth residents, she trekked out to Ivybridge with five children – her daughter had not been born then. Slept She got on a bus with the five boys to Mutley Plain and then waited for lorries to take them to Ivybridge where they slept on the floor of churches and halls. When Ron was stationed in North Wales the family moved for a year to Caernarvon. Later, they moved back to Plymouth when Dianne was born, and they lived at Pennycross. A few years later Ron and Alice ran the New Pier Inn at Paignton in the 1950. It was back to Plymouth when Ron worked at the Grand Hotel and Alice worked at the Lion and Column pub. After Ron died, Alice came to Saltash and lived at Carew Gardens from 1975 to 2001 when she then became a resident at St Anne's. Alice likes to do word searches each day and only recently has she needed a frame to help her walking. Visiting Alice during her party was the deputy mayor of Saltash Mrs Kate Williams, who presented Alice with a bouquet of flowers and a card and said Alice was the first 100 year old she had visited, and admired the special card signed by the Queen. Alice said she had thoroughly enjoyed her day. An added treat in the morning was a visit from some of the children of Burraton CP school who sang and played musical instruments for Alice. One of them, Abigail Statton, was celebrating her tenth birthday on Alice's birthday, so they enjoyed a double celebration. Residents and staff at the home joined in the celebrations in the afternoon and toasted Alice with champagne.
