Still getting out and about, still writing amazing poetry and still living by her five rules for a long and happy life, the North West’s oldest person Marjorie Hodnett Aylward celebrated her 111th birthday on Tuesday 1 April 2025.
Officially the ninth oldest person in the UK and one of a select group of only 206 supercentenarians (age 110 and above) in England, Aunt Marj, as she is affectionately known, proves that age is no barrier to living life to the full and continues to thrive at Formby Manor Care Centre on Liverpool Road in Formby where she is an active and much loved part of the resident community.
Reaching such an incredible milestone is cause for a super celebration, with the team at Formby Manor pulling out all the stops to create a day to remember for Aunt Marj filled with her favourite people and things.
At Aunt Marj’s request there was entertainment from a singing group called ‘Maggie and Mandy’ and then the children from Freshfield Primary School Y6 sang Happy Birthday. Auntie Marj requested afternoon high tea, which comprised cold cooked meats, bread rolls, cheese and pickles and cucumber sandwiches on brown bread followed by scones with clotted cream and jam with her beloved cup of tea.
Her beautiful birthday cake was created in house by Formby Manor’s talented head chef and comprised Madeira which is her favourite. After high tea Auntie Marj played her favourite game of heads up with staff and residents with her favourite tipple of a small glass of Sherry
Cards have been flooding in from well wishers and schools across the North West and Aunt Marj has also recently received her congratulations card with personal message from King Charles III.
Home manager at Formby Manor Nikki Foster said: “Aunt Marj is an incredible lady and a real character, she is a key part of the community in our home and continues to enjoy life with trips the garden centre, painting, poetry and keeping her mind active with wordsearches and watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire. It is a privilege to celebrate this special day with her surrounded by her family and friends.”
Aunt Marj has enjoyed a long and happy life. She was born in Harleston, London, before moving to Wembley. She met her first husband Stanley in 1939 at the Fellowship of Reconciliation and they married in 1941, living initially in Wembley before moving to Harrow after the war. Sadly, Stanley passed away in 1955 after 14 years of marriage, and in the following year Aunty Marj married Hugh (Stanley’s brother) who passed away in 1958 leaving Aunty Marj widowed for the second time at the age of 45.
Just before Hugh passed away, the couple had moved to Sidbury in Devon in 1956 where Aunty Marj was the school teacher of a reception class for 23 years. Some of Aunt Marj’s earliest memories are of air raids during WWI and while she was in school. She can also remember singing at the 1948 Olympics ceremony in London.
Finally, Aunt Marj moved to Formby Manor to be nearer to her family and her niece Maggie and her great niece Katie are now regular visitors to Formby Manor. She has remained very active continuing to read, write poetry and paint and continues to take an interest in news and politics with her overriding motto being “look forward with hope and not backward with regret.”
She is an avid rugby fan, supporting Exeter Chiefs, and lives by her own five ‘rules’ which are the secret to her long and happy life. Aunt Marj said: “I really did not expect to get to 111 but am delighted to be here and have so much to celebrate. Life is for living and it is up to you to make the most of it. I believe that you should do all the good that you can, by all the means that you can, in all the ways that you can, in all the places that you can, to all the people that you can, as long as ever you can. Good rules to live by that are in my mind every day and if you aim to follow them you can’t go too far wrong.”
Part of Lovett Care, Formby Manor is an expertly designed, state-of-the-art care facility, with an exceptional clinical offering that includes residential, nursing and dementia care services. The care home features elegant private bedrooms with en suite wet rooms, stylish communal lounges and dining rooms, a hairdresser, nail bar and secure beautifully landscaped gardens.