Born in 1901, the year that Queen Victoria died, Ellen has many memories of the First World War and survived a torpedo hitting her bedroom when she was a teenager.

Based in South East London Ellen witnessed the chaos and horror of the London Blitz and describes the time as 'very frightening'.

After the war, Ellen enjoyed a career in the civil service but had to leave when she married her husband John.

She said: "In those days they wouldn't employ married women, like a lot of places. I chose to start up a home and get married."

Ellen then went on to work in leather exports and later retrained to become a proof reader in London until she was 64. Ellen finally retired at the age of 75 and believes working hard helped her stay young.

She said: "People are in such a rush to retire these days, I wasn't."
Ellen lived alone and cared for herself in Forest Hill, south east London until she was 100.