MARMITE and cod liver oil are the secret to a long and happy life according to this Grimsby resident who celebrated her 100th birthday on Saturday.
Constance Melloy was 100 years old at the weekend and got a welcome birthday card from the Queen sent to Acorns Residential Home in Welholme Road.
She is the oldest resident at the home and has been there the longest – 11 years – so friends and family were invited to pop some Champagne corks and enjoy a birthday bash in her honour.
And when asked what the secret to such a long life is, she said that cod liver oil every day and a staple diet of Marmite on toast in the morning almost every day since the war ended had kept her young.
Constance added: "I'll have a glass of Champagne today, but I don't usually go boozing on the town."
The 100-year-old has lived through two world wars and her lifetime has spanned across two centuries.
She was born in Grimsby in 1913 to parents Jane and William Troop – shortly before the outbreak of the First World War.
In 1937 she became Constance Melloy when she married husband Charles in 1937 at St Paul's Cathedral – shortly before both Charles and her father William went to fight in the Second World War.
What else happened in 1913 January 1 – The British Board of Film Censors receives the authority to classify and censor films. February 3 – The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect income taxes. March 4 - Woodrow Wilson succeeds William Howard Taft as President of the United States. April 24 – The Woolworth Building opens in New York City. Designed by Cass Gilbert, it is the tallest building in the world at this date and for more than a decade after. May 30 – First Balkan War: The Treaty of London is signed, ending the war. Greece is granted those parts of southern Epirus which it does not already control. June 19 – The Parliament of South Africa forbids blacks from owning or buying land from whites. July 10 - Romania declares war on Bulgaria. August 13 – Invention of stainless steel by Harry Brearley in Sheffield September 9 – In Germany, BASF starts the world's first plant for the production of fertilizer based on the Haber-Bosch process, feeding today about a third of the world's population. October 16 – HMS Queen Elizabeth launched at Portsmouth Dockyard as the first oil-fired battleship. December 1 - The Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line, reducing chassis assembly time from 12½ hours in October to 2 hours, 40 minutes The Camel cigarette brand is introduced by R. J. Reynolds in the United States, the first packaged cigarette.
Constance worked in a munitions factory in Grantham and, sadly, she lost her father – although husband Charles came back safe and sound.
After the war Constance was a dinner lady at the Grange Junior School in Cambridge Road for 20 years, during which time Charles died of a heart attack in 1967.
However, at 54 years old, Constance set about making a life for herself and enjoyed her senior years.
She joined a luncheon club run by Age Concern and made new friends.
In the summer, she went on holidays all over the UK with Saga.
And she was a keen reader of historical novels by Jean Plaidy. Daughter Pat Rose, 65, of Glenfield Road, said: "Mum's always been healthy and after the First World War she lived with her grandparents in the country for a few years – everything was all organic.
"She is a very mentally strong woman, and after my father died, she got on with things.
"People who have met her will know her as a nice woman who gets on with life and always makes the best of what she has."
Vick Harmer, senior care worker at Acorns, said: "She is a fantastic lady who has been here for longer than any other resident. Although she has her challenging days, and when she does, we all know about it!"
