Admiring one of her many presents is
Mrs. J. H. Short, of Grange Court Drive,
who celebrated her 103rd birthday on Monday. With her is her
daughter, Mrs. E. T. Heather.
The oldest broadcaster in the country must be Mrs. Johanna Henderson Short, aged 103, of Grange Court Drive, whose recorded voice was heard on B.B.C. Home Service in the programme "What is Old Age."
Mrs. Short who celebrated her 103rd birthday on Monday was up early to receive her many visitors and birthday greetings, which included a greetings telegram from Mayor (Councillor Mrs. J. O. Alexander) and Mayoress (Councillor Mrs. M. H. Green).
She told the "Observer" how overwhelmed she was at the kindness shown by the people of Bexhill.
Remarkably fit for her age Mrs. Short is eagerly awaiting the summer months when she can be "out and about, talking to people," something she greatly enjoys. Mrs. Short also takes a keen interest in current affairs.
Born in Scotland, Mrs. Short recalls working for a milliner as a young girl for 4s. a week in her home town of Dundee. After her marriage to the son of a Congregationalist minister, Dr. Charles Short, she moved to Birmingham where she included among her acquaintances Mr.Nelville Chamberlain.
On the outbreak of war in 1939, she and her husband, who died in 1942, went to live with a daughter in Carmarthen, Wales. Mrs. Short has lived in Bexhill for about five years.
Throughout her long life, Mrs. Short has retained a keen interest in the arts and many of her oil paintings are displayed in her home (she studied at Dundee Academy). Having travelled widely when her late husband represented a firm of shipbuilders, Mrs. Short still retains memories of her trips to Genoa and Venice when such journeys cost only a few pounds.