A HUNDRED BIRTHDAYS LATER: Gisborne’s newest centenarian Helen (Ellen) Scott was delighted to get a birthday card from the Queen at a celebration during the weekend. Picture by Paul Rickard
Gisborne’s newest centenarian Helen (Ellen) Scott turned 100 today. Her nephew Alan Gee says his aunt, the eldest of six, has outlived her husband and all her siblings.
“Her longevity can be possibly put down to being a non-smoker, a non-drinker and not having any children,” he said.
Born on
February 8, 1917 in London, England — near the end of World War 1 — her “working class” family upbringing was harsh and conditions hard, said Mr Gee. During World War 2 she was living in London and their house was bombed.
“They had to go and live with relations on the outskirts of London, and for a time in an air raid shelter.”
Her first job was as a nanny and she married Harry Scott on May 10, 1941, in the middle of World War 2. They emigrated to New Zealand in 1959, bringing her mother with them, and joined up with her sister Olive Dawson in Gisborne.
