'Woman of Steel' Mabel Taylor celebrates 100 happy years in Sheffield

Mabel, who now resides at Guildford View in Norfolk Park, recalls vividly how she would trek to work, in a factory where she helped to produce surgical instruments, even as the air-raid sirens blared around her.

“We had no choice,” she says.

“We worked 8am-8pm, whether the sirens were going or not, and 8am-4pm on a weekend.”

It was shortly after the war that Mabel met and married her husband, and together they had four children, seven grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.

“It’s been a very happy life,” she shared this week, as she celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by her family and friends, at a party that included a visit from Sheffield’s Lord Mayor, Coun Tony Downing.

“I had a good husband, and that makes a difference.”

Mabel’s daughter, Sandra Wigley, reveals Mabel still makes her own dinner every day, and loves keeping busy crocheting blankets.

“She still gets around, she cooks, makes her own cups of tea, she’s very sharp,” said Sandra.

“I think she’s finding today overwhelming, she’s got a fabulous friend who’s organised the whole party and it’s just amazing.”

Speaking about her mum’s life, Sandra adds: “She’s always had a very busy life, leaving school at 14 and working into her 60s, in proper Sheffield trades, creating cutlery and surgical instruments.

“We’ve learned a lot from her over the years. And as she gets older she’s started to reminisce more about her mum and dad, and her aunties and uncles, which is lovely for all of us to hear about.”

Coun Tony Downing adds: “It’s lovely to be here today to celebrate with Mabel.

“So many people now are reaching this age, but this one is a bit special because Mabel is a Woman of Steel, and they did so much in the war effort.

“My mother in law was also a Woman of Steel, and my wife has got her medal. It’s just fantastic, I love it when I can speak to these people and learn from them, you can learn so much.”

Kathy Markwick, freelance community consultant, who helped to arrange the event, said: "It was fantastic that the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Tony Downing, could join us at Mabel's 100th birthday party.

“As she is A Woman of Steel we wanted to ensure that the celebrations were extra special and they certainly were.

“It was a wonderful and memorable afternoon."