It’s farewell to one of Swindon’s oldest (From Swindon Advertiser)

It’s farewell to one of Swindon’s oldest

6:00pm Monday 25th February 2013 in News

ONE of Swindon’s oldest residents has died aged 101 – only months before her 102nd birthday.

Winifred Webb, known to friends and family as Win, found local fame when she appeared in the Adver celebrating her 101st birthday last May.

The Stratton resident, who sang the song Daisy Bell during the party at Selena House care home, in Oxford Road, said at the time that staying active was the secret to living a long and happy life.

Win was for many years a member of Stratton Women’s Institute and the Stratton Evergreens, while her hobbies included knitting, sewing and embroidery.

“I have always been active and I am always busy,” she said.

Win was born in Swindon Road on May 27, 1911, and was the third youngest of seven children born to Harry and Emily Smith.

She married Norman Webb during 1940, in Stratton, and they lived in Swindon Road in a home about 100 yards from where she was born.

She worked at Tunleys where she cut glass and made glass frames for photographs and pictures. During the Second World War, she worked at Short Brothers, making machinery.

Win’s niece, Iris Smith, said in May: “She looked after me from when I was seven until I was about 12.

“She was very strict and we had to do as we were told otherwise we would be told off.”

A notice announcing Win’s death appeared in yesterday’s Adver.

It read: “She is reunited with her husband Norman. She will be sadly missed by all her family and friends.”

A service and cremation will be held at Kingsdown Crematorium on Thursday, March 7 at 12.45pm.

Flowers can only be left by the family, however donations in her memory are welcome in aid of the charity Cancer Research UK, c/o Hillier Funeral Service, 170 Victoria Road, Swindon, SN1 3DF.