Congratulations to Joy Poolman, who celebrated her 102nd birthday in April with fellow residents at The Royal Lodge in Gillingham. “They gave me a fantastic party,” said Joy. “I have so many friends here, I couldn’t have wished for a happier time.”
Marion Baker, a fellow resident at The Royal Lodge said: “Joy is such a character! She conducted us all while we sang her Happy Birthday. She really is a delightful lady, loved by us all. She lives completely independently, even doing her own ironing! We all have a great respect for her.”
Joy recalled her time in the WRAF during the Second World War. “I used to clean the guns and we would be up all night belting bullet ammunition for the planes coming back and forth. I remember doing it the night before D-Day. It was exciting times. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. It was also fun being away from home. After that I became a secretary for The Crown Court in Southall.”
Joy married ex-sailor Bill in 1947 and some of her happiest memories are those spent with her husband and two sons.

By Katrina Ffiske