IT was a special day for one of Bolton’s oldest residents when she celebrated her 102nd birthday.

Great-grandmother Doris Hodgkiss turned 102 on Sunday and marked the occasion with her family and friends at Greenlands Residential Home in Green Lane, Great Lever.

Mrs Hodgkiss was born in Lambeth on April 13, 1912. After leaving school aged 14, she become a companion to the daughters of a Dame.

She met her husband Joseph Hodgkiss, from Bolton, who served in the army, at a recuperation centre shortly after World War Two.

The couple moved to Bolton before living in Kenya, Southampton, the Midlands and Bahrain before finally settling back in the town in 1963.

Mrs Hodgkiss has one son, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Her son James attended her birthday celebrations, along with his son Richard and two grandchildren.

Mr Hodgkiss, aged 66, of Oakley Avenue, Great Lever, said: “My mother is a quiet lady who just gets on with things. She’s not loud or forceful, she’s a very caring person.

“She’s done amazingly well to reach 102 — I’m hoping it’s in the genes.”

Mr Hodgkiss added: “She’s never smoked, never drank and eats a lot of vegetables.” Mr Hodgkiss’s son and Mrs Hodgkiss’s grandson Richard, aged 36, added: “Everybody had a great time celebrating my grandmother’s life and thoroughly enjoyed the party.

“She’s a very popular lady at the home and everybody gets on with her. She’s a lovely person who always takes great interest in others.”

Mrs Hodgkiss lived in Daubhill before moving to Greenlands Residential Home 10 years ago.

She was featured in The Bolton News on her 100th birthday, when she received a telegram from the Queen and celebrated with family and friends.