It was nothing new for Esther Sachon to receive a birthday card from the Queen. She now has six, one for her 100th birthday and then another each year since she turned 105. The 109-year-old Jewish Care resident is believed to be the UK's 34th oldest person.
Mrs Sachon celebrated her birthday at a Purim party with staff, volunteers and fellow residents at the Princess Alexandra home in Stanmore, where she has lived for the past six years. There was also a tea with family members. "My daughter Helena [Freeman] keeps me young," she said.
A Purim baby, Esther was an obvious choice of name. She grew up in the East End and remembers getting fresh milk from a neighbour who owned a cow.
She met her husband Louis at a Jewish dance when she was 17 and they married three years later. They had two sons and Helena, who was five when Mr Sachon died in 1951. Widowed at a young age, Mrs Sachon took on the responsibility of breadwinner. "Mum started as a dressmaker," Mrs Freeman explained. "She had to work hard after dad died. She worked for Wallis [in Oxford Street] for 30 years. She was a great cook, kept a great home, looked after us very well and only knew about doing things for other people.
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