How you can help make 103-year-old Eileen’s day by sending her 103 birthday cards

An East Yorkshire care home is hoping the “power of the people” will show one of their residents how special she is as she reaches the grand age of 103.

Eileen Roberts lives at Stuart House, Hornsea. She will celebrate her birthday on June 12 and staff have put out an appeal to ensure the date is a particularly memorable occasion for her.

In a Facebook post by the home, it said: “We are hoping with the power of the people, we can show Eileen how special she is by getting as many birthday cards as possible.” The post, including a picture of a smiling Eileen, went on: “Here at Stuart House, our Eileen will be celebrating her birthday on June 12, 2024.

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“Eileen was born in 1921, making her a fabulous age of 103 years young! We would love it if you could help us show Eileen how very special she is by sending her a birthday card on her big day.

“We would love to reach 103 cards. We look forward to reading these with her on her special day.”

Eileen is mum to two sons, Christopher and Miles, and has five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She was “born within the walls of York”, said her younger son, Miles, who lives in Kent.

“When she was little, her parents moved to Harrogate. She met my dad, Steven, and married in 1940 when he was on embarkation leave from the Army, serving in the Middle East.

“During that time, Mum was a telephonist in the control room of the ARP (Air Raid Precautions) at the headquarters in Harrogate. After the war, my dad was invalided home and he ended up working for a pharmaceutical company and it was with Dad’s work that we moved to Hornsea in 1963.”

For a decade, Eileen was secretary to the headmaster of Hornsea School and then took up a civilian role with Humberside Police, for nine years. “She got on very well with everyone,” said Miles, “so much so that she was invited by the Chief Constable for a special lunch at Tower Grange [police station] when she retired.”

The Roberts family moved around Hornsea - once living in Cliff Road while waiting for a new house to be built overlooking the Mere – including at Westbourne Road and Shaftesbury Avenue. Miles said his parents befriended many people over their years living in the town.

“I think Mum’s main hobby was socialising. Dad was a keen gardener – in his greenhouse he had over 120 varieties of fuchsia – and mum was very supportive of him with that. He was a golfer - Mum never got involved with that – and they enjoyed their European travels.

“When Dad retired they had a trip to Canada paid for. It was undoubtedly one of the highlights for them.

“Mum had many longstanding friends but one of the downsides of reaching the age she has is she has outlived them.” Miles, whose father died in 1997, said Eileen lived independently until she was 98 or 99 but she then had two or three falls and moved into residential care.

“My mum has poor mobility now and she tends to lock herself away in her room at Stuart House, which she likes a lot. The staff who care for her are very kindly and, because of the demise of her pals, they are her friends, really.

“The fact the home want to organise all these birthday cards for Mum I think is lovely and immensely generous. I think if somebody is going to the trouble of caring that much to do something for her like that, she is going to be really touched.”

Well-wishers can send birthday cards to Eileen at Stuart House Residential Home, 12-14 Eastbourne Road, Hornsea, HU18 1QS.