Castleford family’s five generation celebration

Five generations of a Castleford family came together this week to help celebrate their eldest member’s 100th birthday.
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Lily Jones reached the milestone on Sunday, but a party was thrown in her honour on Monday surrounded by her son, granddaughter, great granddaughter and her baby great, great grandson.

The gathering was held at Breadalbane Residential Home in Castleford, where Lily has lived since last year.

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Her son Alan Jones, 72, said: “She loved it, they got a singer in for her and she loved being the centre of attention.

100 year old Lily Jones With son Alan Jones, grand daughter Tracy Gould, great grand daughter Shannon Gould, great great grand son Ashton Gould100 year old Lily Jones With son Alan Jones, grand daughter Tracy Gould, great grand daughter Shannon Gould, great great grand son Ashton Gould
100 year old Lily Jones With son Alan Jones, grand daughter Tracy Gould, great grand daughter Shannon Gould, great great grand son Ashton Gould

“She got loads of presents and 22 cards, including one from the Queen, which she was really pleased about.”

Born on Lock Lane in Castleford on February 9 1920, Lily attended the school on the same street which is where the sports centre now stands.

During the war she worked in Leeds making electrical items but had to wait until the conflct was over before marrying her sweetheart, Albert Jones.

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Albert, known locally as ‘Snowy’ because of his white blonde hair as a youngster, had been stationed in the Middle East during the war, fighting in places such as Syria and Damascus.

100 year old Lily Jones
with Debra Stanley (manager) and Julie Barker, Tracy Kilvington, Jane Reynolds, Gemma Peach100 year old Lily Jones
with Debra Stanley (manager) and Julie Barker, Tracy Kilvington, Jane Reynolds, Gemma Peach
100 year old Lily Jones with Debra Stanley (manager) and Julie Barker, Tracy Kilvington, Jane Reynolds, Gemma Peach

The pair lived on Lock Lane to begin with, before moving to Airedale.

They had their son, Alan, and Lily went on to become the manager of a fruit shop on Albion Street owned by long-serving Castleford firm, Davison’s. She was nearly 70 year-old before she decided to step down and retire.

Albert sadly passed away 16 years ago and Lily continued to live independently until last year, when she suffered a series of falls in a matter of days.

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With all of her family living locally, she gets regular visits from her son Alan, along with her granddaughter, two great grandchildren and her three great, great grandsons.

Alan said: “She is almost blind and she struggles to hear, although she has got two hearing aids, but she loves to talk - she’ll talk all day if you give the chance.

“She’s got a marvellous memory and although she can’t really do too much now, she still loves her Rugby League.

“She’s always looking out for the scores, especially Castleford Tigers.

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Manager at Breadalbane Residential Home, Deborah Stanley, also paid tribute to the centenarian, saying: “She came here in July last year after she had a few falls, so she did really well to live on her own for that long.

“She is a real character but lovely with it.

“I wish I had my kettle on as many times as she has a cup of tea!

“She is a proper stickler and will tell everybody off when she thinks they deserve it- but when you get to that age who can blame her?”