Gladys Martel was pleased to be joined by one of her sisters, who will be 102 in July.
The pair were surrounded by their family at Le Platon, where Mrs Martel now lives. Up until last year, Mrs Martel was living on her own, having lost her husband, George at the end of 2024. Her sister, Gertrude Watt still lives independently at her home in Cobo, and the women have taken after their mother, who also lived beyond 100.
The sisters are the last remaining siblings of their large family, but they happily celebrated Mrs Martel’s milestone birthday with tea, cake and their nieces, nephews and children.
‘I just asked her if she slept well and she said she did,’ said Mrs Watt, after chatting to her sister in Guernsey French.
‘Patois was the language we first learnt to speak. When we started school, we didn’t know any English.’
Their nephew, Philip Tanguy, said the sisters often reverted back to their native language when they were together.
‘Aunt Gladys is amazing – to think a year ago she was living by herself, it’s just amazing,’ he said.
‘Mostly well-behaved, but very stubborn. If she doesn’t want to do it, it ain’t gonna happen,’ he said.
‘She was born a Brehaut, her dad was a farmer in St Peter’s. She grew up on a farm, milking the cows, working for her dad. And then she married Uncle George and they were growers. They were a very loving couple.
‘A lot of our family has remained on the island, and it’s wonderful to hear her stories. She used to live in a house in a vinery. So she would remember going down the Frie Baton Hill, by the old St Saviour’s Tavern, and then would cycle all the way back up the big long hill towards Longfrie. That was her route up and down to the house. My parents had greenhouses, which backed on to their greenhouses, and I always remember them working with my dad. I’ve got pictures of us working in the greenhouses with their old cast iron pipes. They just lived a normal life in Guernsey.’