WORK hard and never give up is the secret to a long life, says a mum-of-three who marked her 100th birthday last week.

Staff and fellow residents at Gibraltar House in Monmouth helped Ellen Gardiner celebrate her centenary with a party and songs on Saturday (July 22).

Ellen, who has five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, spent her actual birthday on Friday (July 21) with her family before returning to her home for a second party next day.

Born in 1917 in Priors Hardwick near Stratford-upon-Avon before the end of the First World, she was brought up by her grandparents before working as a servant after leaving school.

She met and married George Gardiner, a shepherd and thatcher, in 1937 in Southam and they lived in a farm cottage while bringing up their children Michael, Angela and Elizabeth.

When George passed away in 1953, Ellen moved with her children to the North Riding for a few years, before returning to the Midlands where she worked in service for the famous Attenborough family.

Ellen later worked as a warden in Ockbrook girls’ school and as a receptionist in Derbyshire Royal Infirmary before retiring firstly to Eastwood, the home village of writer DH Lawrence, and then to Monmouthshire to be near her family in her early 90s.

“Mum worked hard all her life,” said daughter Elizabeth. “It was a

struggle for many people after the war, and mum really had to work hard to bring us up after dad died, but she’s been a wonderful mum and loves life.

“In her retirement, she loved travelling overseas and walking and had lots of friends in the WI and the church. She’s religious and reads a passage of the Bible every day, and that has given her a lot of strength.

“We had a lovely family party with about 50 guests on the Friday, and she had a wonderful time, with even her old milkman popping in to say hello.”

A keen tennis fan, she was glued to the recent coverage of Wimbledon and likes watching dramas on TV.

Ellen said she had also been guided through life by “looking with her eyes, but keeping her thoughts as her thoughts”.