Portsmouth Football Club's oldest fan celebrates her 101st birthday

A Pompey girl at heart, it was no surprise that she was over the moon to receive tickets for Portsmouth’s match against Tranmere Rovers for her 101st birthday on Saturday.

Born on July 31, 1918, in Oxford Street off Commercial Road, Emma, nee Symonds, was one of nine children. As a young girl, her favourite thing to do was to help her fishmonger father Thomas on his Charlotte Street market stall.

‘She will always tell you that the market people were the best people in the world,’ smiles Emma’s daughter Sylvia.

After Emma left St Agatha’s School to work in a laundry, she married Stanley James Smith who was a milkman from Ariel Road at 18 years old.

Throughout her life, Emma’s unconditional passion for Pompey meant she didn’t miss a match for 10 years. However her streak was broken in 1939 when she missed the FA Cup final because she was heavily pregnant.

Since then, she has tried to make it to as many matches as possible and made up for it when she watched Pompey take the trophy in 2008 for her 90th birthday.

Sylvia explains: ‘I was born in 1939 and then in 1940, dad left for the Second World War.

‘Mum would never have me evacuated so we stayed in Portsmouth. The furthest we went to was Waterlooville.

‘But the only bomb that was dropped in Waterlooville was in the garden of the house where we were staying. So we had to come back into Portsmouth again.’

When the Second World War ended, Emma cared for her mother full-time for 40 years. She then went on to get a job at a garage at the end of Palmerston Road before joining Portsmouth Aviation Factory with her husband Stanley.

After Stanley died, Emma decided to take up voluntary work in various organisations in Southsea. At 73 years old, she was sacked from one charity shop for ‘selling items too cheaply’.

Today, Emma lives with her daughter Sylvia and celebrated her birthday at the Lord Mayor’s Parlour with her friends and family.

Emma’s granddaughter, Cllr Suzy Horton, says: ‘I’m really proud. She’s Pompey through and through.

‘She’s a feisty character and we’re quite similar in that way. I’ve got so much closer to her over the last few years and she’s just an absolute delight.’

‘The Lord Mayor has put on a lovely celebration for us all.’

After countless football matches, Emma is now looking forward to Saturday’s game at Fratton Park with a Pompey scarf around her neck.

The Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Cllr David Fuller says: ‘It’s just brilliant to reach 101 years old.

‘It’s important to give something back and celebrate this Portsmouth lady.’