Phyllis marks a very special day
GREAT GRAN PREPARING TO CELEBRATE HER 100TH BIRTHDAY
A BIRKBY lady who married during the Second World War will celebrate her 100th birthday on Monday, July 27.
Phyllis McCartney, who is now a resident of Longwood Grange Care Home, will enjoy a special cake with family and friends - all socially distanced, of course.
Born in 1920 to parents Percy and Harriet Lee at York Street, Huddersfield, she was the fourth of 10 children and went to Beaumont Street School, leaving at 14.
Phyllis grew up in Birkby and started work at Joseph Lumb’s, Longroyd Bridge, with her mum in the Sorting Shed.
She then worked at Kagan’s (Gannex) at Elland and, in winter, would walk through the snow from Birkby when buses weren’t running - recalling times when, if she arrived late, she would have to wait outside for an hour in the cold until they opened the doors again.
During the Second World War she met Alexander McCartney, who was in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and had just been evacuated from Dunkirk and was billeted at Cambridge Road.
They married on December 16, 1941, at St Johns Church, Birkby, after receiving a special licence to allow the ceremony to go ahead.
During the war, Phyllis worked on the buses with Hansons, working out of their Milnsbridge Depot, and always did the Slaithwaite last run before walking home with friends.
After the war Phyllis and her husband moved to Dalton and had three children - Jacqueline, Robert and Sharon - and she went on to work at ICI, from where she retired at the age of 62.
The family moved to Oakes in May 1967, then to Adelphi Road in Marsh in 1987 - and she lived there until June 2019 when she moved to Longwood Grange.
Phyllis has three granddaughters, Claire, Natalie and Jenny, two great granddaughters - Daisy-May and Poppy - and two great grandsons, George Robert and Alexander James.
The family are planning the best birthday celebration they can, despite being socially distanced.
Phyllis and her family would like to thank staff and carers at Longwood Grange for their continuous hard work and caring in these unprecedented times. They have provided outstanding care to Phyllis and the other residents throughout, going above and beyond their normal duties and putting the residents first, making sure they are safe and well.