Margaret Blair received a special card from the King and Queen to mark her birthday.
A woman who has celebrated her 105th birthday said the “secret to a long life is a good cup of tea with friends”.
Margaret Blair lives at Erskine Veterans Charity’s McKellar House care home in Bishopton, and celebrated her birthday on Tuesday with friends and family.
Mrs Blair was born on May 12 1921 and grew up in her grandmother’s house in Dumbarton with four younger siblings.
She was a pupil at College Street Primary School and later Dumbarton Academy, before finding work in embroidery at the United Turkey Red Words in Dalquhurn, Renton.
During the Second World War, she was an overseer at the Blackburn Aircraft Factory in Dumbarton, where Sunderland Flying Boats were created for UK forces.
In 1941, she enlisted in the Women’s Land Army and was stationed at her uncle’s farm in Southmains, Milngavie, where she met her husband, Christie Blair, the son of a local gamekeeper.
Mr Blair, who served in the RAF from 1940 to 1947, served in India for a time before he returned home. The pair married in 1948 and moved into a home in Bearsden.
They were happily married until Mr Blair died in 2017 while a resident at Haig House, an Erskine care home.
They have a daughter, Senga, who was born in 1957, and Mrs Blair is a grandmother to two and a great-grandmother to three.
On Tuesday, she received a second royal birthday card, with a message from the King and Queen, after getting another on her 100th.
The centenarian has never been a drinker or a smoker, and says the simple things in life like home-cooked meals and good company are key to happiness and a long life.
She said: “I’ve had a great life and so many happy memories over the years. I feel very fortunate to be celebrating my 105th birthday and to have reached this milestone surrounded by family, friends and everyone here at McKellar House.
“It has been lovely to spend time together and celebrate with so many familiar faces.
“The secret to a long life is a good cup of tea with friends, and we’ve had a few of them today.”
Ian Cumming, chief executive of Erskine Veterans Charity, said: “It is a pleasure for everyone at Erskine to celebrate Margaret’s 105th birthday.
“Reaching such a remarkable milestone is a significant occasion and a chance to recognise a life filled with memories and experiences.
“We are delighted to help make the day special for Margaret and to celebrate alongside her family, friends, residents and staff.”
