A happy 100th birthday for Portchester's Eleanor Hannar

Eleanor grew up with her two older sisters May and Betty and the trio were often left to fend for themselves as their mother was in the Wrens and also worked as a local housekeeper.

At school, Eleanor was a bright student and was accepted into grammar school. However her mother, who was on her own, could not afford the uniform.

During the Second World War, Eleanor worked in the Armament Depot at Gunwharf near Priddys Hard. Eleanor married and had a son, Bill, who has since sadly died.

In 1948, following the end of her previous marriage some years earlier, Eleanor married Jack Hannar. Eleanor was very proud of Jack who served in the Royal Navy as Chief Petty Officer and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) for bravery while on the motor torpedo boat (MTB) 344 during the Second World War. Jack died in 1993 aged 82.

Eleanor worked for many years at Fleetlands and previously in Cyanamid in Gosport. She lived there for many years before moving in with her daughter Penny at Portchester.

Eleanor has one surviving daughter Penny, two grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, who celebrated her special birthday with a socially-distanced tea party with her family and friends.

Now, she is looking forward to tea at The Ritz, London, circumstances allowing.