Grand old Grantown lady survives Doodlebugs and V2 rockets to reach 100
The life of a grand old Grantown lady who has just turned 100 years old has been brought to book by her son.
Mrs Dorothy Laird survived the Blitz, Doodlebugs and V2 rockets having lived in London through-out the Second World War and a few years later even an aircraft crashing into her street to reach the ripe old age.
And on Monday, surrounded by all 22 members of her family, she toasted the landmark with her favourite tipple - a wee dram of whisky.
Her family had travelled from far and wide including her grandson Oliver, his wife Katie and their children Henry and Beatrix who had endured the chaotic travel disruptions caused by snow at Heathrow Airport to make it from Little Rock in the US state of Arkansas.
One of her two sons, Alan, who penned his mother’s memories, said: "She was absolutely delighted that every living member of her family was there to celebrate her 100th birthday at the Grant Arms Hotel."
In total 60 people attended including a busload of friends from Dundee - where Mrs Laird was raised - and pals from closer to home in Grantown and Aviemore.
As part of the celebrations on Sunday, Glenfiddich Distillery laid on a special tour with guides and lunch was served in a private room.
Staff there presented her with a personalised bottle of their 15 year old malt.
Mrs Laird recalled her memories to Alan and her other surviving son, Andrew, and these were brought together by them in time for the bash.
"I should have done this at least 10 years ago," said Mrs Laird referring to the book for her family, and she joked: "It will be a miracle if they are able to read or make any sense out of it."
She was born at 7pm on Janunary 21, 1913 at Roseberry Street, in Glasgow, the daughter of Mr Charles MacKintosh Pearson and his wife, Ellen.
Mrs Laird, a keen supporter of the SNP, recalled: "I should have been born earlier in the day but the family doctor Dr McLean Smith gave my mother some drugs to delay my birth as he wanted to go to the pictures in the afternoon!"
Her first job was as an office junior collecting mail from the GPO and Exchange before becoming a nurse at Kings Cross Hospital in Dundee when she was 18.
She returned to office work as a shorthand typist to one of the directors of Boase Spinning Company who made jute products including wagon covers and water bottle covers for the South American market.
She married her late husband, Ron, a member of the RAF, at the outbreak of World War II, and moved to London at that time.
After the war, the couple headed to Carlisle and in 1960 they retired to Aviemore both aged 60, where Mrs Laird’s sister, Maimie and husband, Ken McLaren, a keen climber and skier, had a house.
Son Andrew said there had been a few narrow escapes for his mother before making it to 100 years.
He recalled that an American Dakota aircraft taking off in bad weather at RAF Northolt had crashed into a neighbour’s house two doors along from them around 1947.
But she is still thriving, he said: "She is completely on the ball mentally and in excellent nick. She loves reading and crosswords - including the one in the Strathy.
"She has a very active mind and a dram every night, and that keeps her going."
