A great-great-grandmother who made east London her home 84 years ago has celebrated her 100th birthday.
Beryl Tozer, who lives with her oldest daughter Joan in Stratford, marked the occasion with a party at St Paul’s Church, East Ham.
The proud mother of three daughters and one son, Beryl is now a grandmother to 10, a great grandmother to 21 and a great-great grandmother to three children.
Beryl was born on May 28, 1918 in south Wales. She arrived in east London aged 16 and hasn’t left since.
She loves roses, the colour pink and strawberry ice cream. She isn’t picky when it comes to tea; she’ll drink any kind.
During her life she has taken two big holidays – one to visit her daughter Joan’s family when they were stationed in Germany and one to Austria because she loves the Sound of Music.
She needed a job, so she became a nippy - a waitress - and worked at Lyons Corner House.
“I used to look smart in that uniform,” Beryl said.
A chance encounter at the Spotted Dog pub led her to meet her future husband, Bill Tozer. He asked her on a proper date, and they were together until his death in 1970.
After Bill’s death, Beryl was encouraged to join the Women’s Guild. It was then she began recording her memories. Now, they live within the pages of a blue presentation folder.
Stories, pictures and her birth certificate fill the folder.
“Who is that?” Joan asked Beryl.
Beryl leaned in, examining the image with her gold magnifying glass. “That’s my Bill,” she said, smiling.
She still watches TV, although she can no longer hear the voices. Her time working in a tin factory deafened her in the left ear, and she has only residual hearing in the right.
She is partial to word searches. A half-filled one sits beside her on a table. This gives her a competitive edge when playing Scrabble, and sometimes, she beats Joan.
“She’s not lost her memory for words,” Joan said.
When asked the secret to her longevity, Beryl looked up through her glasses, giggled and said: “Oh, I’ve lived a normal, little life.”
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