Bonnyrigg care home resident turns 100

A Bonnyrigg care home resident celebrated her 100th birthday last week, with most of her century spent in Midlothian.

Greta Brown (nee Keirs) was born in Uddingston on May 26, 1922. She worked at Colville’s Munitions in Bellshill during the war.

She married her husband, Dick Brown, in July 1943, and in 1949 they moved to Dalkeith when the colliery that Dick worked in closed down. They lived in Woodburn Place initially but eventually settled in Gibson Drive.

Between 1945 and 1961 Greta had four children, two daughters, Margaret and Jean, and two sons, Bob and David. Her husband sadly died in 2002 and she moved into Springfield Bank Care Home in 2017.

Greta was joined by family and friends to mark her centenary.

During the 1950s and 1960s Greta worked firstly in the Dalkeith Sausage Factory, and when that closed she worked in Ferranti, Thornybank as a cleaner.

Her grandson Neil Rapson said: “She wasn’t one for going out socialising very much but did enjoy going to Highland Dancing classes in the old Kippielaw School.

“She is always happiest when she was helping others. Loves spending time with her grandchildren. Family has always been her first priority.”