A 103-year-old - who once had a job decoding secret messages - has shared the secret to her long life.
Joan Thompson celebrated the impressive milestone at Cloverleaf Care Home in Lincoln, where staff described her as a "joy to be around" and someone who will "have a go" at anything.
The mum has led an interesting and colourful life, caring for children, witnessing bombs fall, running her own guest house, working for the RAF, raising her own family and more recently, dancing in a TikTok video.
Born in 1919, Joan was one of 13 children. Living in a two-bedroom cottage in Essex, life was not easy for her.
"We were happy in a way but my mum and dad were very strict", she said.
Joan lived through the traumas of the Second World War and, along with her husband witnessed a bombing. She says she hid under a tree and clung to it so hard that her fingernails were embedded in the bark.
She told LincolnshireLive: "I remember my husband wanted a drink, he wanted a glass of beer. He walked to this pub and there was an air raid and then bombs were dropping and there was a great big crater and there were holes in the ground."
Joan was very active as a young girl, climbing trees and doing the splits. Christmas times for her as a child were very different to now. Joan and her siblings got a single stocking filled with a tangerine, an apple, some sweets and a game of snakes and ladders to share between the 13 of them.
"But that was life and you didn’t expect any more", she said.
Leaving school at 14, she moved away to a new home to care some younger chidldren. She said a couple of her siblings were deaf and could not speak.
A few years later she met her husband, Ron, who worked in the army. While her husband was away, Joan ran a guest house in Devon.
She'd clean floors, wash pots, cook meals and tend the garden - all by herself. "It was a big place, it was three stories", she said.
At one point Joan joined the RAF as an assistant before training to be a telecommunicator, decoding secret messages.
Of all the jobs she’s done over her life time, Joan said bringing up her two children, Jacqueline and Christine was her favourite.
Asked what the secret to her long life is, Joan says she's never drunk alcohol, doesn’t smoke and most importantly enjoys keeping active. She never learnt to drive, so relied on cycling to get anywhere.
Hayley Mitchell, the activities co-ordinator at the care home, says Joan loves to take part in all the activities they offer. Everything and anything, Joan will have a go at, she adds
"I love doing things – I don’t like being idle," Joan said.
She's a big fan of bingo and even jumped at the chance to make a TikTok video with the care staff where she followed a dance routine to pop music.
Hayley said: "Joan is an inspiration. When I hear about her life and when she was younger and having to be around in the war. I think she’s an absolutely lovely resident and you can have a bit of fun and a laugh with her.
"Joan always takes part in activities, it doesn’t matter what it is, she’ll always have a go. She’s a joy to be around." Joan will turn 104 later in June.
