Born Angela Madeleine Colognoli in Guernsey on 9 May 1926, she said yesterday that she could not quite believe she had reached such a momentous milestone.
She grew up in St Peter Port with her mother Amy and father Sebastiano, a native Italian who worked as a waiter in the Royal Hotel, as well as her three sisters, Rose, Margaret and Pam.
‘Growing up in the 20s and 30s, the island was very different to what it was now,’ said her grandson Richard Bartram.
‘She particularly remembers the strong French influence on the island, with her grandfather himself being from Normandy, and on one occasion being told off at school for using Guernsey-French instead of the “proper” French. She also remembers the trams which ran along the east coast.’
Angela was 13 years old when the Second World War broke out and she was evacuated to Stockport in June 1940.
‘She described the boat journey as a “horrible, noisy coal boat” and she had to leave her family behind,’ said Mr Bartram.
‘Owing to their ages, her two younger sisters, Rose and Margaret, stayed on-island, and her older sister Pam joined the Wrens.
‘One day towards the end of the war, she recalled playing with her friends when she looked up and saw her father for the first time in many years, who had come to collect her.’
After the war, she returned to Guernsey. Having trained as a nanny while away, she got a job working for a local family and stayed with them for most of her working life.
She married Bert in 1959 and they had a daughter, Amanda, followed by two grandchildren, Richard and Lauren.
After Bert died, she joined the Guernsey Voluntary Service and worked as a volunteer at the Russels Day Centre for the next 25 years.
She has spent the past five years living happily at Maison De Beauvoir and will be spending her birthday today with family and friends, including an afternoon tea.
You need to be logged in to comment.