Happy birthday to Scarborough's smallest baby who just turned 100

A Scarborough resident who was told she was never going to survive has just turned 100.
Peggy Poole with her sisters Edna Morris and Muriel Moulson.Peggy Poole with her sisters Edna Morris and Muriel Moulson.
Peggy Poole with her sisters Edna Morris and Muriel Moulson.

Peggy Poole was born on 9 December 1918.

Weighing only two and a half pounds, doctors gave her only seven hours to live.

A group photo with the Mayor of Scarborough.A group photo with the Mayor of Scarborough.
A group photo with the Mayor of Scarborough.

Yet, this week she has been celebrating her one hundredth birthday surrounded by her family and the Mayor of Scarborough.

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Peggy said: “I was Scarborough’s smallest baby and they said I wasn’t going to live. Look at me now! I had a very good nurse who always used to take me out for a walk in the pram. I was well looked after.”

Peggy and her two sisters, Edna and Muriel, grew up at their family home on Beechville Avenue.

Peggy’s mum used to work for jewellery shop Brights, whilst her dad was a caretaker at Queen Street Methodist Church.

As a teenager Peggy used to go dancing at the Olympia with a group of friends. One of them, Les, later became her husband.

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She said: “Me and my sister used to go to the Olympia on a Friday night when it was children’s night. I had a really good time.

“At 10 o’clock my father was outside waiting and we had to go home. There were four of us, two boys and two girls, and the boys always walked us home and our dad was always behind them. It was very old-fashioned.”

Shortly after Peggy and Les got married, her husband joined the 5th Green Howards regiment in World War II.

In the late 1950s the couple moved to Lepton, near Huddersfield, where Peggy worked at Standard Fireworks.

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During their lives the couple also lived in Coxley, Boscombe and Southbourne (near Bournemouth) before eventually moving back to Scarborough.

“I had a very good life,” added Peggy, “with lots of good memories.”

The 100-year-old now lives in Sandybed Court.

Anna Cybart, one of the carers that visit her daily, said: “We all love Peggy. She’s very independent and she never complains. It’s a pleasure to spend time with her. We wish her a very happy birthday.”