A brother and sister brought up in Rutherglen have captured their mother’s most cherished and personal memories in a special book to mark her 100th birthday.
Ella Clark celebrated the milestone on Wednesday, July 5, and was presented with the 'story of her life' by son Hugh and daughter Issy at her birthday party at Croftbank House Care Home in Uddingston.
The siblings spent months compiling their mother’s photos, letters and personal notes to create the book, which charts Ella’s life from her birth in Nerston to her centenary year.
Contained amongst the photographs and family tree diagrams are a collection of hand-written messages given to Ella by friends and family when she was bed-ridden for seven years after falling off a swing and breaking her hip aged 14.
Hugh and Issy only recently discovered that amongst the notes from her many visitors during this difficult time was a message from a young man named Jim Clark, whose frequent visits kept Ella’s spirits up during this incredibly tough period.
From 1939 onwards, the pair formed a close friendship and would eventually go on to marry. Their first house together was in Stonefield Road, Blantyre, where they would bring both Hugh and Issy into the world.
Ella’s son Hugh, 67, said: “It’s just been incredible to look back over our mum’s life and uncover all these incredible notes, pictures and memories, especially between her and dad.
“It’s so nice to see how many friends visited her so much when she couldn’t go outside and some of the sayings, rhymes and one-liners they’d write in mum’s autograph book were just so clever that, even reading them now, 80 years or so later, you still laugh at the humour and intelligence with which they’ve been written.”
Issy, 62, said: “It’s no surprise that mum kept such comprehensive notes, having worked as a secretary for most of her life.
“We even found a book which listed every Christmas card and Christmas present received from 1965 to 1985, every wedding present they received in 1951 with names and addresses, and every Silver, Ruby, Golden and Diamond wedding present received over the years.
“I think, after all the notetaking she’s done throughout her life, it’s nice to repay the favour to her and give her this special book full of memories and keep-sakes from her own life.”
Following the births of Hugh in 1956 and Issy in 1960, the family moved from Blantyre into their house in Hamilton Road, Rutherglen, where Ella lived for almost 60 years.
She now resides at Renaissance Care’s Croftbank House Care Home where husband Jim spent a happy year before his death, aged 90, in 2016.
Ella now likes to spend her days quietly, but previously enjoyed crossword mornings and frequent games of scrabble with carers and family, many of which she won to her delight.
However, with her life’s story now crystalised in book form, Ella’s children hope she’ll have even more to keep her going in the years ahead.
Hugh added: “We’re very proud of mum for reaching 100 and I’m sure she’s feeling very bashful about all the attention we’re giving her. However, it’s only right we celebrate such a wonderful woman.”
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