Newport woman Ellen Kerr celebrates her 101st birthday

Ellen Kerr loves knitting crochet blankets for charity, spending time with her family and enjoys a glass of brandy every evening before bed.

Her famous blankets have been sent far and wide across the globe to charities in need.

Mrs Kerr was born Ellen Hason on July 16, 1921, in Canal Parade, Newport, as one of five children.

During World War Two she worked in an ammunition factory.

She met the man who would become her husband of 74 years, Daniel Kerr, at school when they were 14 years old. They married in 1941 in the midst of World War Two, during which Mrs Kerr worked in an ammunition factory. Mr Kerr wasn't eligible for service due to sight problems, and instead worked as an electrician.

The couple later welcomed sons Daniel, Lyndon and Andrew, where were all raised in the family home in Caerleon Road, where Mrs Kerr still lives today.

Ellen with son Daniel Kerr

Ellen Kerr with her son Daniel

Today Mrs Kerr has seven grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

When asked about the key to a long happy life, she told the Argus that the key to a long life is that she has three good boys and tells people to be happy.

She said: “I can’t believe it, I am 101. If I've got the boys with me then it will be a lovely day, and if something is going on they would always take me with them.”

Son Daniel said described his mother as "truly is a remarkable woman who enjoyed her life and is still in brilliant health".

“We spend a lot of time making sure that she is okay, it can be a lot of work for us, but she has carers to help as well," he said..

“She does a lot of walking and looks after herself, she even walks up and down the stairs without a stick."

Mrs Kerr - known as 'Nell' to loved ones - loved to travel abroad and in the UK with friends and family, and during her long life travelled to locations including Scotland, Benidorm and Malta, as well as holiday locations in the UK such as Barry and Weston-super-Mare.

Mrs Kerr enjoyed dancing on a Saturday evening to keep fit, and made many friends through her church group at St Julius the Martyr.

In the early days of her marriage she enjoyed traveling as a pillion passenger on a motorbike, before eventually moving to the sidecar.

Son Lyndon said: “74 years of marriage is fantastic, nowadays that doesn’t happen, the most people are married is for six years.

“Dad used to call for mum on his pushbike as teenagers, and her mother would say that 'Danny Kerr is out there again for you again', with dad calling 'I’ve come for you El'.”

Mrs Kerr, who is in remarkable health, lives alone and independently, with occasional help from family and carers.

Lyndon Kerr added: “She looked after herself with carers coming in for five days a week an hour a day."

Before the Covid-19 pandemic she would enjoy attending bingo at senior centres where she enjoyed meeting new people, and having a cup of tea and a biscuit at church after the service.

Now, she enjoys going out with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she also enjoys walks around her local park to keep healthy and loves to find somewhere where she can have a coffee and do crosswords with little help.

Lyndon Kerr added: “It’s unbelievable, she’s exceptional looks after herself gets her breakfast up and down stairs without stairlift.

"Not many people can do that at 100.”

She also loves watching tennis and enjoyed going to Wimbledon in the 1970s to see live matches. She also particuarly enjoyed watching Wales beat South Africa for the first time on South African soil last week. 

She celebrated her 100th birthday last year with family, but this this year is a quiet occasion with her sons and their wives going out for lunch and enjoying a brandy and orange.

Son Daniel said: “We had the 100th birthday celebrations with family last year, this year is quieter as it will be just me, my brothers and our wives enjoying a lunch, and of course a small brandy.”