Woman who survived wartime Britain and Covid celebrates 100th birthday

Vera was born in Dudley on January 13, 1922, to parents Thomas and Maud Parkes and is the niece of Dudley sweet tycoon Edward 'Teddy' Gray.

She lived and was educated in the borough, and upon leaving school was ordered by her mother, much against the wishes of Vera and her father, to go and work for her uncle Teddy’s business.

Vera did so until the Second World War broke out, at this time she went to work at Accles and Pollock, a tube manipulation company, to help with the war effort.

Many times on her way to and from work and her home in Dudley, she had to take shelter from the air raids.

She remembers the night when a huge bomb exploded near Top Church in Dudley whilst she was taking cover deep below the town in one of the air raid shelters.

Vera still recalls thinking: "This is the night, I don't think I will be going to work tomorrow.

"I always had dread and fears of what to tell my dad, as he wouldn't believe I had been in the shelter again."

She met and married Arthur Carter in 1947, who had been called up and spent six years in the Royal Navy during WW2.

They had two sons, Trevor, the oldest, and Anthony.

Over the years Vera was the manageress of newsagents Booth and Clancey, firstly in Leamore, Walsall and later in Wollaston, Stourbridge.

She had acquired a taste for sweets, chocolate in particular, and would often be asked by customers for her recommendations.

Her son, Tony Carter, said: "She jokes that when customers would enquire to her husband or staff members what certain sweets they would recommend, Vera was always asked for her advice, as she had first hand knowledge of every item on sale as she had tried them all herself, many times."

Vera added: "I used to make the ice-cream with my mum and Dr Little used to send children to us when they had sore throats.

"Customers would come in and ask my husband Arthur ‘what’s this one like Mr Carter?’

"He’d always say ‘ask my wife, she’s tried them all.'"

After almost ten years at the shop in Wollaston, Vera and Arthur left, with Vera going on to work in the accounts office at John James Wollaston and later for BSR Stourbridge for fifteen years up until her retirement.

Arthur sadly passed away in 1995, aged 75, Vera lived alone on the Kingsway after his death for 23 years until falling ill, and now lives at the Brambles Care Home at Amblecote.

Vera has appeared in the Express and Star several times in the past, once appearing in an article about the Teddy Gray family confectionary business.

She appeared again when her granddaughter Hayley invited one of the paper’s reporters to Halfpenny Green Airport to cover Vera’s 90th birthday surprise helicopter flight.

When asked by the family what she would like for her birthday, Vera had jokingly replied: “Well I have never been in a Helicopter.”

Anthony and Lynn secretly arranged the flight and on a very cold and frosty beautiful January morning many family members turned out to watch Vera and her sons take to the skies over her childhood haunts at Dudley and down the Severn valley before returning.

Speaking at the time, Vera said: "I wasn’t nervous. I think a few years ago I would have been but not any more.

"So I just bucked my ideas up and off we went. It was marvellous, such an experience.

“The view was beautiful. You could see all of the Black Country and then the countryside alongside it. It was mind-boggling."

After Arthur died,Vera spent many holidays at her son Trevor’s and Daughter-in-law Yvonne’s caravan at Clarach Bay and later at their home in Aberystwyth.

She also enjoyed holidays with her daughter-in-law Lynn after discovering foreign travel late in life after taking her first flight to her grandaughter Hayley’s wedding in Cyprus.

Vera said: "Arthur had seen so much of the world with the Navy and never wanted to leave this country and always said there is nowhere quite like England, so I suppose I never had the chance or inclination to travel abroad."

There was now no stopping Vera, as she travelled to Austria and Scotland on her many trips with Lynn.

Vera has grandchildren Louise, Paul, Lloyd and Hayley and great -grandchildren Billie, Ella, Kiona, Lawson and Cayla.

In February 2021 Vera, like many of her fellow residents at her care home, was taken ill with Covid-19, she was very poorly but having been vaccinated she pulled through.

Although she now has lost her mobility, with the care she receives from her carers at the home, she manages to keep sharing her smiles and sense of humour, always willing to have a laugh.