CELEBRATIONS Eileen celebrates 103rd birthday

A WOMAN who trained as a master tailor has celebrated her 103rd birthday.

Eileen Caple celebrated the remarkable milestone with a party at Ty Coch Nursing Home in Llanishen with other residents, staff and her family.

Eileen was born on April 15, 1915, and spent the first part of her life living in Treherbert Street, Cathays, with her mother, father, seven brothers and one sister.

The second oldest of the nine siblings, she got a job serving at a mansion house in Cardiff at the age of 14 where the resident family noticed her flair for needlework.

At 16 Eileen got a job as an apprentice tailor at Fifty Shilling Tailors where she worked until she got married to George Caple in 1933.

The newlywed couple went to live in Bristol where they were based until their home was bombed in 1942.

With George away in the Army, Eileen took their three children – Joyce, Brian and Russell – back to Cardiff where she returned to work at Fifty Shilling Tailors.

Eileen carried on working at the shop for a number of years and eventually qualified as a master tailor.

But after suffering with arthritis in her hands she had to give up tailoring professionally in her 60s but continued to work in a number of pubs in Cardiff.

George returned from the Army to work for the Cardiff Corporation, where he helped to rebuild bomb damaged parts of the city.

Eileen’s daughter Joyce Thomas attended her mother’s birthday party at the nursing home last Friday.

She said party guests were treated to a buffet, a cake, and enjoyed musical entertainment from a singer and a pianist.

“It was absolutely fantastic,” Joyce said. “They really celebrated her birthday well.”

And on the day of her birthday on Sunday Eileen had another visit at Ty Coch from Joyce, who also brought along her daughter and granddaughter as a surprise.