Queen’s greeting for Margaret’s birthday

A member of the congregation of Ebrington Presbyterian Church, her many guests included the Minister, Rev Paul Linkens and the Clerk of Session, Ruby Miller, and among the dozens and dozens of greeting cards she received was the Queen’s Telegram, which took pride on place on the centre of the mantelpiece.

Margaret was showered with gifts, including flowers, perfume and clothes, and two birthday cakes were produced with a ‘100th’ birthday motif.

A steady flow of visitors made their way to her bungalow with birthday greetings, and by the late afternoon Margaret admitted being “tired...but it’s a nice tired”.

Originally from Raphoe in Co Donegal, Margaret was a pupil of Drumbeg National School, and after leaving at the age of 14, she began work at Stoney’s Estate in Raphoe before moving on to Skerries Commercial College at the age of 19, where she worked in a domestic capacity.

On August 5, 1939 she married her beau, Samuel Thompson, but did not have much time to celebrate her marriage as Samuel was called up to go to war the very same day, and was billeted in Stirling in Scotland with the Cameronians.

With exceptions of trips home, including one to allow him to finish convalescing following injury in Dunkirk, the couple were effectively apart until Samuel came out of the Army in 1946. They began their married life in a house on Alfred Street, but when the houses were built for the returning war veterans, they moved to one of the purpose-built pre-fabs before moving to their current home at Nelson Drive in the 1970s.

The couple had once daughter, Hazel, and are the proud grandparents to three grandchildren, and were later bless with four great-grandchildren.

While neighbours and friends came and went all day, Margaret found herself surrounded by her family, with her daughter Hazel and her husband, Robert, peforming host duties. Margaret’s cousin, Lily made the journey from Muff to spend the day with Margaret, despite the fact that she is 92-years-of-age, and also making the trip to the city were her niece, Florrie, from St Johnston, and her granddaughter Donna who lives in Manchester, while long-distance birthday greetings in the form of telephone calls were received from her grandson Brian in Australia and other granddaughter in Aberdeenshire.

Also stopping by for a cuppa and a chat were Margaret’s nephew and niece, Tommy and Evelyn Robb.

Asked how she was enjoying her birthday, Margaret said: “I am enjoying it. I wanted a quiet family day but I have had lots of visitors. I’m tired, but it’s a nice tired.”