TREFIN’S oldest resident, Catherine Sheldon, celebrated her 100th birthday last week, with five days of socially distanced celebrations.

On her actual birthday, July 15, the village of Trefin gathered outside her house to sing her Happy Birthday. They presented her with a special rose and collected donations for the Gurkha Welfare Trust.

Catherine was visited by family and friends throughout the day and also had a visit from Pembrokeshire County Council chairman, Dr Simon Hancock, who presented her with a bouquet of flowers.

Catherine has a long-standing association with the Gurkhas as her husband, Peter, trained Gurkha regiments during the Second World War. The couple have been staunch supporters of the Gurkha Welfare Trust. On her birthday Catherine had a Zoom meeting with Major Gurung, the commanding officer of the Gurkhas training in Brecon. He and his soldiers sang Happy Birthday to her, accompanied by a Gurkha bagpiper.

Mrs Sheldon was a native of the London suburbs. Before the Second World War broke out, she had started a job in London as a secretary with BP in the city of London.

When the war began, she joined the British Red Cross. To begin with, she helped out at a nursing home where mothers from the East End of London were taken to have their babies, as it was too dangerous for them to remain in London.

She then moved to Southwell in Nottinghamshire where she helped out in Air Raid Precautions. She met her husband Peter in 1940 at Newark Station. The couple talked late into the evening resulting in Peter and Catherine's brother missing their train and having to walk back to barracks. Peter proposed the next day and the couple married after the war.

Catherine was back in London in 1941 and transferred to the City of London branch of the Red Cross, where, because of the distinctive buttons on their uniforms, the girls were called the Brass Button Girls.

Mrs Sheldon helped out in the London hospitals and at night she would often be down in the Underground looking after adults and children, sleeping down there, and making sure that everyone who should have been there was present.

Peter served in the Royal Artillery and was posted out to north east India in 1941, where he remained until the end of the war, training Nepalese Gurkhas.

They married in 1947 and had two daughters. The couple lived in London initially before moving to Aylesbury.

When Peter retired in 1984 the couple moved to Trefin to be nearer their two daughters – both of whom had married Pembrokeshire farmers.

As well as her two daughters, Catherine has eight grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.

She attributes her long life to a daily 10-minute snooze after lunch and enjoying life.

Catherine asked her family and friends to give donations to The Gurkha Welfare Trust in lieu of presents and she was absolutely delighted and overwhelmed by the support that everyone gave with more than £800 being raised for the charity so far.