Neighbors Celebrate 101st Birthday Together, Sharing a Century of Friendship

Quick Smiles:

• Two neighbors in Oxford share their 101st birthday, having been born on the same day in 1924.
• Josie Church and Anne Wallace-Hadrill have been friends and neighbors since the 1980s, celebrating many birthdays together.
• Both women have led rich, fulfilling lives filled with volunteering and creativity.

In a delightful twist of fate, two neighbors in Oxford, England, celebrated their 101st birthday together. Born on the same day in 1924, Josie Church and Anne Wallace-Hadrill have been living side-by-side since the 1980s. Over the years, their shared birthdays have become a cherished tradition.

Josie reflects on the passage of time with a sense of wonder.

“I think life has gone quite quickly,” she muses. “I don’t think we’ve thought much about the time passing. It’s just passed.”

Both women embraced life with vigor, diving into volunteering and creative pursuits after their husbands passed away. Josie recalls their busy days fondly.

“Anne was very busy when she was younger—so was I—always very productive and creative.”

“She did a lot of painting and tapestry, and she was always busy, and I was always busy doing something else, somewhere else, because that’s the sort of life we live.”

Anne’s life has been as fascinating as it is inspiring. She studied English at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford University, and served as a radio mechanic in the Women’s Royal Naval Service during World War II. Her career as a lexicographer stemmed from her passion for words.

“I was always interested in words. It was my trade.”

Last year, she was honored with a medal for her naval service, a recognition she deeply appreciated.

Josie’s journey was equally remarkable. Trained as a nurse at Preston Royal Infirmary, she witnessed the birth of the National Health Service.

“In those days,” Josie shared, “You had to live (on campus) and you couldn’t get married, and it was very strict. People wouldn’t put up with that sort of life now.”

Her nursing career during the Second World War included caring for SS German soldiers, an experience she described as “chilling.”

After the war, she moved to Oxford with her husband, who was continuing his studies.

“Oxford was very strange because each college had a large intake of older people who’d gone through the war and were taking up their university places. So you’d get the old men and then the young 18-year-olds coming in from school.”

Their centennial celebration in 2024 was a highlight they both cherished.

“We live on the most amazing road. It’s like one big, extended family,” Josie said proudly of her neighborhood.

“Everybody knows everybody else. If you have a problem, you just give a shout and somebody will come. I think we are lucky.”

When asked about the secret to their long lives, Josie offered a simple yet profound piece of advice: “Just live.”

“You do what seems to be needing doing, and then you do that—and then something else takes its place. You just go on from one thing to another.”

“We don’t engineer our lives. I think they’ve just engineered us.”

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