Amelia Anderson celebrates 100th birthday

Amelia MacLeod celebrates a century. Picture: Greg Macvean

Amelia Macintosh Anderson was born at 10.30pm on Wednesday, February 9, 1916 at Robertson Avenue in Slateford.

She was the second daughter to proud parents Peter and Christina Anderson and sister to Hughina.

Amelia attended Craiglockhart Primary School from 1921-28 and then Tynecastle High School from 1928-30.

Amelia and her elder sister were inseparable as children while growing up in Robertson Avenue.

They attended the same schools and, as they grew older, both girls worked in their father’s shop,  P Anderson Greengrocery, in Slateford Road.

At 18, Amelia began a three-year nursing course at the City Hospital in Colinton Mains, along with life-long friends Chris Fraser and Nan Grant.

After finishing a shift, she and her friends would cycle from the City Hospital to Portobello outdoor swimming pool, where Amelia learnt to swim.

Amelia qualified as a fever nurse in 1937 and later went on to work in Longmore Hospital until her retirement.

The Free Presbyterian Church and her Christian faith have always been an important part of Amelia’s life and indeed it was at the Free Presbyterian church in Gilmore Place that Amelia was introduced to future husband, John Macleod.

Amelia and John were married on June 10, 1949 in the Rutland Hotel.

On November 4, 1951, they were blessed with the arrival of their son, Alistair John Macleod.

Aged 82, Amelia flew abroad for the very first time for a holiday to France in July 1998.

Amelia has always been involved in the lives of her niece and nephews and their families, particularly after the death of Hughina, their mother, in 1972.

Amelia’s other passion is cooking and baking. Even to this day she still bakes her own scones and gingerbread.

Amelia celebrated her 100th birthday yesterday with a family lunch at the Macdonald Hotel in Holyrood, also attended by friends from as far afield as Kent and the north of Scotland.