Woman, 101, reunited with son for surprise birthday party

Lily Thornett had not seen her son Brian since the pandemic began because he was not able to travel from his home in the United States. Credit: Care UK

A 101-year-old woman, who had to celebrate her 100th birthday without family, was reunited with her son for the first time since the pandemic began.

Lily Thornett was unable to celebrate her milestone birthday with her only son, Brian, last year as he lives could not travel into the UK from his home in the US.

But this year, Brian and his wife Suzanne were determined to be their for her birthday on June 24 as they flew in early to ensure there was time to quarantine before seeing her.

Ms Thornett, who lives at Care UK’s Heather View care home in Crowborough, East Sussex, had not been able to see her family throughout the pandemic.

Lily Thornett with care home staff Credit: Care UK/PA

She said: “It was so lovely to see my family again. It was a very special day and we had a lot of fun.”

The family were treated to a special birthday cake and were entertained by an Elvis impersonator.

Natasha King, home manager at Heather View, said: “It was a very emotional day for Lily, but the smile on her face when she was reunited with her family said it all.

“We always like to throw a big party for celebrations, but we knew this one had to be extra special – so we invited an Elvis impersonator to the home and decorated the garden to make it the perfect party location.”

Born in London in 1920, Ms Thornett was a milliner after leaving school and was set to go to Paris to train in 1939 when the war broke out.

She was a telephone operator at Greenwich Town Hall during the war. She married Victor Thornett in 1942 and the couple welcomed their only child Brian later that year.