Lily is going Strong at 103

Lily Strong - 103 today

EAT right and look after yourself and you might live to 103 like Lily Strong.

Lily is celebrating the milestone birthday today with friends and family at Laburnum House in Shaw.

Children from Buckstones Primary School will also be visiting to sing.

Lily moved to the home two months ago, after living with her brother: “The staff here are wonderful, they do everything,.” she said

Raised in Hollinwood, Lily was a millworker at 14, made power meters at Ferranti and was even an egg-tester at stages in her long life.

She married first husband Harry Minshall when she was 17. When he died after 30 years of marriage, four years later Lily married Joe Strong, whom she met at a social club.

As for living to such an impressive age, Lily said: “Just look after your body and eat right - not the food they have nowadays! We had to eat good food because there was nothing else.”