Little Thetford 1905
Edwardian centenarian Norah Bedford celebrated her 105th birthday on 27 December 2010. Born in 1905, during the middle of Edward VII‘s reign, Norah now lives in Littleport. A founder member of the Little Thetford social club, Norah has been active in Ely district village matters most of her life. For example, she has been a parish and county councillor for Stretham, a governor at many primary schools in the Ely area and president of the Little Thetford Womens Institute.
Norah was the St George’s Church organist for many years, only relinquishing the post in 2002 when the multitude began singing faster than she could play; she remains a well respected member of the congregation.
Mother of two, grandma to six and with ten great-grandchildren, Norah, who lived at Braham Farm with her husband Cyril, attributes her longevity to having a happy active life. According to the Cambridge News 27 December 2010, Norah said “I’ve never smoked, I’ve never really drunk and I’ve always tried to be as active as I can”.
Some significant events of 1905 include:
- 13 July 1905 release of the British silent film, Rescued by Rover, starring the world’s first canine film star
- 5 December 1905 the liberal leader Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the first man to be given the use of the term Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, being asked to form a government on the resignation of the conservative Arthur Balfour
It was also the year in which
- Albert Einstein published four papers significant to physics: Photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, Special relativity and Matter and energy equivalence. He called it his Annus Mirabilis, or his extraordinary year
- the Russian Revolution was at its height
- Henri Matisse painted the oil on canvas Woman with a Hat, purported to be his wife, Amelie
John McCullough
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