TWO sisters get together every week at the home of one of them near Tenbury.

What makes it so unusual is that both women are aged 101.

Edith Dumbleton and her twin sister Dorcas Tobin are 101 years old, Edith lives with her daughter and son in law at Leysters, near Tenbury and Dorcus with her son in Banbury in Oxfordshire.

The women were the youngest of four children. They were born on June 28, 1920.

They meet every week in Leysters although contact has been limited in the past year because of Covid-19.

Mrs Dumbleton’s daughter, Christine Bemand, said that her mother’s sight is not great and she has limited mobility but is otherwise well.

Her sister is more mobile and that is why they meet near Tenbury.

Both sisters have had both Covid-19 vaccinations and Mrs Bemand says that the virus has never been a major concern for the two women.

Mrs Dumbleton, whose husband died 15 years ago, had three children, Christine, Fred and Ken who died 10 years ago. She has nine grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren.

Hopes of a big family get together last year when they were 100 and this year were both scuppered by the Covid-19 restrictions. Had this been possible, family would have come to visit from all over the country and as far away as Canada.

After being born into a family without a lot of money Mrs Dumbleton went into domestic service.

“Mum worked in a house half a mile from her home but was only allowed to visit once a fortnight on the half a day that she had off every two weeks,” said Mrs Bemand.

It was a hard life and not a happy time for Mrs Dumbleton but that changed with the start of World War Two.

She left domestic service and began working for the war effort in a factory making switchgear for munitions.

“Mum was much happier although it was not so good for Dorcas,” added Mrs Bemand.

She got married in 1950 and then started a family. After this she worked as a home help.

“It has not been an easy life, mum lost a son, who took his own life and it does not come worse than that,” added Mrs Bemand.

But a positive attitude and ability to deal with adversity has been important.

“Mum has a smile for everyone that she recognises,” added her daughter.

“When things happen, she deals with it, parks it and moves on.”

Another factor has been not depending upon possessions to make her happy and limited expectations.

Unlike many people she does not look for the next big buy or holiday to make her happy but gets joy in what she has. A fairly simple and humble background with the simple things in life and good food is also part of the success, says he daughter.

“Of course, genetics play a part in having such a long life,” Mrs Bemand added about the twins.