Two 101-year-old ladies have the same birthday, and have been next-door neighbors for 45 years.

Not only have these two old ladies lived next door to each other for 45 years, born on the same day, month, and year, but they have also lived very long lives; they just celebrated their 101st birthday together.

Josie Church and Anne Wallace-Hadrill (living in Oxford, England) were both born on April 1, 1924. They have been neighbors since 1980, SWNS reported.

“When Anne was young, she was very busy, creative and very productive,” Ms Church said of her neighbour. “She painted a lot and did tapestries and was always busy, and I was always busy doing something else, somewhere else. It was just the kind of life we ​​had. I don’t think we think much about the passage of time. It just passes.”

Josie Church (left) and Anne Wallace-Hadrill (right) have lived next door to each other since the 1980s.

Both women have become very active in volunteering and creative activities since their husbands died. “We live on the most wonderful street, it’s like a big, extended family. Everyone knows each other. If you have a problem, you just shout and someone comes,” says Church.

The two women don't remember when they discovered they shared the same birthday, but they're excited to celebrate it together in 2024. "It was great. We had a great birthday last year. It was a surprise because I didn't know anything about it. I think we're so lucky to have met each other," Church said.

She shared her secret to longevity: “Just live. There’s not much you can do. You just keep going from one thing to another. You do what seems to need to be done, and then you do it, and something else takes over. You just keep going from one thing to another. We can’t design our lives. I think life designs us.”

Both women became very active in volunteer and creative activities after their husbands passed away.

Anne grew up in Hampshire, England, and moved to Oxford after the death of her husband, historian John Michael Wallace-Hadrill. Anne taught English at St. Hilda's College, Oxford University, and served in the Women's Royal Naval Service as a radio operator during World War II.

Anne recalls her time at St. Hilda's, which was then an all-women's college: "We weren't forbidden from seeing men. We were expected to live decent lives." She enjoyed her time at the school, which she describes as "both fun and hard work."

After graduating, Anne became a lexicographer, working on the Oxford English Dictionary. “I’ve always been interested in words. That’s my profession,” she said. She was proud to receive a medal from the Royal Navy in 2024, something she had long awaited.

The two ladies were born on the same day April 1, 1924.

Ms Church grew up in Manchester. She trained at Preston Royal Infirmary, where she spent three years working as a nurse and witnessed the birth of the NHS . “You had to keep to yourself, you couldn’t get married and it was very strict. People wouldn’t put up with that now,” says Ms Church, who worked as a nurse during World War II.

After the war, she moved to Oxford with her husband so that he could continue his studies at Oxford University (which had been interrupted by the war), and experience university life. She said that half of the students had served in the war, the other half were young students who had just finished high school.

“Oxford is very strange because it’s a university where there are a lot of older people who have been through the war and are at university. So you see older men and 18-year-olds,” Church said.

The two women said they don't remember the moment they discovered they had the same birthday.

After marrying, Mrs. Church worked for a while and raised her family. Her husband was a housekeeper at a boys’ boarding school. She was a home nurse, having some interesting years looking after 120 boys. Her husband died in the 1990s.

Mrs Church shared that she has three wonderful children, Chris, Pamela and Andrew. Mrs Anne has a son, James, who lives in the coastal town of Poole (UK).

(According to vtcnews.vn)

Source: http://baovinhphuc.com.vn/Multimedia/Images/Id/126081/Hai-cu-ba-101-tuoi-sinh-nhat-cung-ngay-45-nam-la-hang-xom-sat-vach