WHEN Joyce Roden moved to Walthamstow in 1949 it was an entirely different place.

The widow who turned 100 on Monday (July 3) recalls a time when every neighbour on the street knew each other.

As she celebrated her impressive milestone with a party at her home near Crooked Billet Roundabout, there were no shortage of well-wishers. The centenarian was surrounded by friends from her bridge club, church and keep fit class as well as members of her family. She is indeed a very popular lady.

The pensioner, who describes herself as a “people person” says keeping the body and mind active is key to living a long, healthy life.

“I love to keep fit. I walk a mile to church on Sunday mornings and I do a lot of gardening,” she said.

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Mrs Roden celebrating with her son-in-law Michael Harris, step-daughter Sheila Harris and niece Hilary Clinton.

“You’ve just got to get on with things.

“These roads have changed a lot. When I first moved in everyone on the street knew each other and they were here long-term.

“Now there are a lot of people renting and they don’t stay as long.”

Born into a family of five and raised on a farm in Worcestershire, Mrs Roden had recently graduated from the University of Birmingham as a social studies student when WWII broke out.

She moved to Lancashire to work as a welfare officer in a munitions factory and can still remember the exact details of the job.

“I used to walk through all the different workshops, the ones making the bombs and the detonators, it was a huge area,” she remembers.

“The war changed everybody’s lives but there was never a direct raid on the factory so we were lucky.

“I was in charge of dealing with the cases of people who wanted to leave. It was very hard, you needed a good reason like to be pregnant.

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“But it was interesting because I got to meet lots of people and that’s what I like.”

After the war Mrs Roden moved to Walthamstow to work as an employment officer at a battery factory. It was here she met her husband, Archie, whom she married in 1949.

The widower had three teenage children and Mrs Roden settled in well to her new role as step-mum.

Archie, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, passed away in 1984 after 33 years of marriage.

Despite her age, Mrs Roden shows no signs of slowing down and gives her time generously to fundraise for Parkinson’s and volunteers at charity events.

She added: “The worst thing about being 100 is that you have outlived most of your friends. I do miss them quite a lot.

“But I’m very fortunate. I just like people and I don’t think people should be critical of each other. They should try and help them instead.”