BLENHEIM Court resident Nancy Battersea has marked her 100th birthday in style.

She celebrated reaching her century with a party at the Liss care home.

Nancy said: “I had a party at Blenheim Court on my 100th birthday.

“They made a cake and I invited a lot of the residents, which was very nice and I think everybody enjoyed it.

“I knew my family were doing something the next day, but I didn’t realise they were doing it on such a grand scale.

“Fifty-six of my family turned up at Langrish House from all over England, and one person came from Australia. We had a fabulous time. It was absolutely lovely.”

Nancy and her family moved to East Hampshire from Worcester in 1954, and Nancy and her husband, Reg, worked at Langrish House.

Nancy said: “Reg was a service engineer at Langrish, and he was in charge of the nose cone for Concorde. The Concorde nose cone was done with great secrecy.

“We lived in one of the houses in the close in Langrish. I was bored as soon as we moved down here, so I went to work in a factory and started cooking for the men at Langrish. I ended up being the top chef and I stayed there even after my husband died.

“We moved into Madeleine Road in Petersfield in about 1965, and I moved to Herne Farm in the late 1970s.”

On reaching her century, Nancy says she has enjoyed a good life. She added: “I’ve had a good life, apart from losing my husband.

“I’ve been to Australia, Switzerland and Austria and travelled quite a lot.

“I have had a happy life. I’ve been surrounded by love with my three girls and their families and my sisters and brother. All round it’s been a lovely life and my family have made it so, and I must say the people here at Blenheim Court are wonderful.”