Meet the 103-year-old woman who survived a world war and loves a TikTok

Joan Thompson is a resident at the Cloverleaf Care Home in Lincoln and has had quite the interesting life. Born in 1919, Joan was one of 13 children. Living in a two-bedroom cottage in Essex, life was not easy for her.

“We were happy in a way but my mum and dad were very strict”, Joan said. Growing up, its fair to say she had quite the experience. Joan lived through the traumas of the Second World War – including experiencing some of the horrors for herself.

The 103-year-old told of the time she and her husband witnessed a bombing. Joan hid under a tree and clung to it so hard that her fingernails were embedded in the bark.

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She said: “I remember my husband wanted a drink, he wanted a glass of beer. He walked to this pub and there was an air aid and then bombs were dropping and there was a great big crater and there were holes in the ground.”

Joan was very active as a young girl, climbing trees and doing the splits. Christmas times for her as a child were very different to now. Joan and her siblings got a single stocking filled with a tangerine, an apple, some sweets and a game of snakes and ladders to share between the 13 of them.

“But that was life and you didn’t expect any more”, she said.

Leaving school at 14, she moved away to a new home where she began caring for some younger children. She said a couple of her siblings were deaf and could not speak.

After doing that for a while, she met her husband, Ron, who worked in the army. While her husband was away, Joan ran a guest house in Devon.

Cleaning floors, washing pots, cooking the meals and tending the garden, she ran it all herself. “It was a big place, it was three stories”, she said.

Of all the jobs she’s done over her life time, Joan said bringing up her two children, Jacqueline and Christine was her favourite. She says she still loves children and enjoys meeting other parents with them.

After that, Joan joined the RAF as an assistant before training to be a telecommunicator, decoding secret messages. What is the secret to such a long life, you might ask? Joan said she has never drunk alcohol, doesn’t smoke and most importantly enjoys keeping active.

She never learnt to drive, so relied on cycling to get anywhere. The activities co-ordinator at the care home, Hayley, told us, she loves to take part in all the activities they offer – everything and anything – Joan will have a go at.

As Joan simply puts it: “I love doing things – I don’t like being idle.” She loves a game of bingo and even jumped at the chance to make a TikTok video with the care staff where she followed a dance routine to modern pop music.

Cloverleaf Care Home activities co-ordinator, Hayley Mitchell, said: “Joan is an inspiration. When I hear about her life and when she was younger and having to be around in the war. I think she’s an absolutely lovely resident and you can have a bit of fun and a laugh with her.

“Joan always takes part in activities, it doesn’t matter what it is, she’ll always have a go. She’s a joy to be around.” Joan will turn 104 later in June.

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