Former wartime canteen girl from Peterlee celebrates 100th birthday

May Edwards, a resident of Peterlee for more than 60 years, marked the milestone on Friday, September 4.

Born May Savage in Horden, she played a vital role during and after the Second World War, working at the miners’ hostel in Horden and supporting Bevin Boys – young men conscripted to work in Britain’s coal mines.

Mrs Edwards said: “I was proud of that job; it was my bit for the war effort.

“It was a paid job and I had a little room to sleep in.

“I was a canteen girl, helping in the kitchen and making tea and coffee for the lads, who were lovely and worked so hard.

“I had wanted to work in the munitions factory in Sheffield, but I wasn’t old enough.

May Edwards. (Image: Believe Housing)

“Looking back, it was for the best.”

She later worked in a drapery shop in Horden, where she met her future husband, Stanley Edwards, who worked at the nearby butcher’s.

The couple married in 1948 and later moved to Peterlee as the new town was being developed.

They raised two children, Alan and Glynis, in the home where Mrs Edwards still lives today.

Now widowed and a grandmother, she remains active with the support of her family.

May Edwards with Kim Corfield and Beverly Goodwin from Believe Housing. (Image: Believe Housing)

Mrs Edwards said: “I have a lovely big family and they come to help me with the jobs I cannot do myself, but I like to keep busy and try to keep active.

“I have a little four-wheeler to whizz around.”

She added: “My garden has always been one of my great pleasures; I still like the borders to look good.

“My family take me for a look out, we go all over.

“I enjoy a garden centre trip and going out for food.

“I’m lucky that way.”

To mark her centenary, neighbourhood officers Kim Corfield and Beverly Goodwin from Believe Housing, of which May is a customer, visited with a birthday card and a hamper.