Special party for Burnley care home resident's 100th birthday

Residents and staff at MHA Heather Grange held a special party for Nellie to mark the milestone, which included a cabaret performance by care home activity co-ordinator Gerard Horrocks.

Nellie was born in 1921 at Sandy Hall Farm in Barrowford, where her nephew Robert still lives.

She is the youngest of seven children and had four older brothers – Bob, Arthur, James and Tom – and two older sisters, Annie and Mary.

Nellie attended Whitefield Council School and then went on to Nelson Grammar School. She left school at the age of 16 to work on her family farm, running a milk round and looking after the dairy herd.

Nellie married Harold Cock, a boy from a neighbouring farm and they had two daughters, Sylvia and Barbara. Nellie always worked on the farm and loved the farm life.

In addition to her two daughters, Nellie has five grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren and three great great grandchildren. She was a keen member of the WI and represented her local branch in London on two occasions.

When she retired, Nellie and Harold loved going away in their caravan. They especially liked the seaside and loved Scotland. Her father had always said that there were too many people and too much traffic down south, so they never went.

When asked what the secret to her long life was, Nellie said “always being around her family.” She loves her family dearly and they all mean the world to her.

Nellie also said that the best memory of her long life was marrying Harold – Harold was, as she said, “a good man!”

Home manager Abby Mbizi said: “On behalf of all the staff and residents at Heather Grange, I would like to take this opportunity to wish Nellie a happy 100th birthday. It is such an honour to celebrate a century of life with you. May you continue to enjoy the journey of life.”