Happy 100th Birthday Edna!

Edna has volunteered at the hospice's charity shop for 21 years and may well be the oldest volunteer in the country, but on turning 100 she has decided that now is the time to take things a little easier.

Her family gathered together to celebrate her special day and she had a steady stream of socially distanced visits from friends and colleagues, she received an array of flowers and cards which included one from The Queen.

She said: "I got well over 100 cards, I didn't want any presents, I just asked for donations to St Catherine's."

Edna was born on September 18 1920 in South Wales in a village called Marcross. She has two sisters, both sadly now deceased, and four brothers, one of whom is still alive, is 96 and lives in South Wales.

She married her husband Robert (Bob) Bates on April 26,1943, at St Bartholomew’s Church in Armley, Leeds, and was married to him for 51 years.

During the Second World War, Edna joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, she served with the Heavy Anti-Aircraft (or ‘Ak Ak’) Battery and also learned telephony which led to a number of postings across the country. She is a life member of the Women’s Royal Artillery Association. Bob was a truck driver with the Royal Corps of Signals, stationed in Africa and Sicily.

In 1952 Edna and Bob took over Bob’s parents’ greengrocers shop in Armley and stayed there for 15 years, they went on to run other shops in the Leeds area and retired to Hunmanby in 1985. Sadly Bob passed away in October 1994 and rests in God’s Acre, Hunmanby.

St Catherine's decorated the shop front in celebration of Edna's birthday and posted birthday wishes on their facebook page, they said: "Edna has made many friends during her time at the shop and is a much-loved, hardworking member of the team who will be missed by everyone. She is an inspiration."

If you would like to donate to St Catherine's you can do so HERE

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