Bradford woman marks her 100th birthday

There will be special celebrations for Iona Baxter, who was born on August 25, 1922, in Ceylon, the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka.

When she was around the age of one, Iona moved to Calcutta, where her brothers and sisters lived.

She was one of six and had three brothers, who have all passed away, and two sisters –one who has also reached the milestone age.

Iona pictured with her family

Iona’s sister Yvonne is 101, while Mona is 96 and they both live in Australia.

Iona and her siblings attended boarding school – Iona from the age of five. Her family said that they would stay there during the holidays as they couldn’t afford to go home, but she seemed to have a “carefree and very happy childhood”.

As a young woman, Iona worked for the American Red Cross in Calcutta during the war.

“She also witnessed some of the dreadful scenes that the partition of India created,” said her family.

Iona and her husband

In 1946 she married Charles Baxter, and they had a son, Arthur, and a daughter, Jayne, who lives in the USA.

It was the 1960s when Iona and Charles arrived in the UK. The pair touched down with their daughter at Yeadon Airport, now known as Leeds Bradford Airport, on Bonfire Night 1966 and joined their son, who was already living in Bingley.

She went on to find secretarial work with Carrick and Fosters, Bradford & Bingley Building Society and finally with the Probation Service in Bradford.

Iona has four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, who will all be celebrating her landmark birthday.

She is now a resident at Well Springs Nursing Home, on Leylands Lane, Heaton where her family say she is well cared for and very happy.

The care home has been chosen by residents and their families as one of the Top 20 care homes in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Ben Redhead, managing director of Well Springs Nursing Home, said: “We are thrilled to once again receive this prestigious award.

“Our staff collectively, work tirelessly for those who need care and are the lifeblood of Well Springs, who strive to live our ethos every day.

“This award is because of the supportive families we encounter and the reviews they leave.

“Our supportive families appreciate our transparent and loving approach and the effort put in to nurture the right staff to offer the highest standard of care.”