A woman from Cefn Fforest has celebrated her 101st birthday
Lillian Rose Howitt was born on November 20, 1918 – just nine days after the end of World War I – and weighed only 1.5lbs when she was born prematurely at 24 weeks.
She now has three children, five grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.
Mrs Howitt had nine siblings, all of which she has outlived. Her father was a miner at Britannia Pit in Pengam and paid £200 for the house she was born in more than a century ago.
Mrs Howitt said: “I had a happy childhood. There were nine of us and we didn’t have much to play with, but we were all happy.”
During World War II, Mrs Howitt was in Belgium, attending to Army, Navy and Air-force officers.
Mrs Howitt described her role in WWII as being a “jack of all trades”.
It was in Belgium she met her late husband, Bob Howitt. The pair got married in 1945 and were married for 63 years.
Family and friends threw Mrs Howitt a party at Llanbradach Bowls Club to mark the milestone.
Mrs Howitt’s family bought her a doll because she never had one growing up.
Mrs Howitt’s son, Derek, was also celebrating, with his 70th birthday falling two days after his mother’s birthday.
Derek, who also lives in Cefn Fforest said: “We can’t all get together often so we’ve had a joint party.
“In between my birthday and my mother’s birthday, it’s my niece’s birthday.”
Mrs Howitt said that despite turning 101, she “feels just as young as always”.
Mrs Howitt added: “It’s lovely to be here with family. If it’s like this next year I’ll be happy.”
Mrs Howitt’s favourite hobby is playing cards with her family.
Cheryl Howitt, Mrs Howitt’s daughter-in-law, said: “Everyone idolises her. The family is very close.”