Happy birthday! Desborough care home resident celebrates becoming centenarian

Josephine Swallow, known affectionately as Jose, turned 100 on November 5 (Saturday).

Yesterday (Monday) children from Loatlands Primary School visited her at Cheaney Court residential home to wish her a happy birthday.

Jose was born at North Lodge, Rushton Hall, where her parents worked, and went to school in the village.

She recalls playing pranks and sticking coins to the path and watching people try to pick them up, and putting parcels on the road attached to cotton and pulling them away as they went to pick them up.

She then worked in Kettering and at the Desborough Corset Factory.

Jose met her husband John at Rushton Hall, which was used as a military base during the war years, after he was stationed there.

They married at Rushton’s church before moving to London after John got a job with the Metropolitan Police.

When John retired they moved back to Rothwell before moving to North Wales, where her brother lived.

After both passed away Jose decided to come to Cheaney Court, where she has been for three-and-a-half years.