A woman who marched past the King in the first Battle of Britain parade has celebrated her 104th birthday this week in Lyme Regis. 

Joan Cool of Fairfield House residential care home was born on October 23, 1919 and has two children, five grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

She celebrated the occasion with her son Michael, daughter-in-law Cath, granddaughter Hannah and their dog Obi - who travelled down from Rugby to spend the afternoon with her.

Dorset Echo:

Joan received more than 90 birthday cards to commemorate the occasion, with more coming through the post each day.  Some of the cards were sent from Mrs Ethelston’s Primary School in Uplyme.

Dorset Echo: She said: “It’s so thoughtful, and I couldn’t believe the amount I received. All the beautiful cards are displayed in my bedroom where I look at them and smile.”

Born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, Joan moved to Moorlea in 1927. She attended Greenhead High School passing her 11 plus exam when she was just 10 years old.

Joan joined a fever hospital when she was 17 as she was not old enough to go into general nursing, but passed her exams when she was 21.

In 1943, during the Second World War, Joan joined the Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Nursing Service at RAF Halton.

She was later posted to the RAF Hospital in Wroughton, Swindon, which acted as a casualty clearing station for D-Day and was among the sisters to march past the King in the first Battle of Britain Parade.

She said: “We used to take in casualties every other night so we could deal with things that needed doing, then they would be passed on to a hospital, probably nearer to their hometown.

“It was sad in a way, because they were the youth of our generation- it was such a waste,” she added.  

Following the end of the Second World War, Joan got a job as an industrial nurse at hat manufacturers Christy and Co, where she met her husband, John. He was the buyer and had returned from the war to the same job he had since he was 14 and worked his way up from office boy to head buyer.

She spent a year and a half at the factory, but lost her job as the NHS came in, so the company no longer required a trained nurse. Joan said she didn’t mind because she was married.

After her marriage to John in January 1948, they had their first child Jaqueline in April 1949, followed by a son Michael in 1952 but Joan carried on nursing as they grew up.

In the 1960s, the couple gained a reputation for organising caravan rallies all over Europe before settling down to Lyme Regis in 1993, where Joan joined the Women’s Institute.

As branch secretary, Joan opted for using a computer instead of a typewriter and has carried this on to the present day, regularly joining in local debates on Facebook.

When asked about her longevity, Joan said: “I had a good start in childhood and when I was training, we always had good meals and I looked after myself.

“If I had anything wrong, I wouldn’t wait until it got me, I went straight away to the doctor. I had two great-aunts, one lived until 102 and the other lived until she was 105,” she added.