It was a double celebration at Penpergwm Care Home with two residents celebrating their 100th birthdays within a week of each other.

Residents Alan Barnes and Dorina Heuclin celebrated the milestones receiving special commemorative birthday cards from the Queen, with Alan’s birthday on Tuesday November 9 followed a few days later by Dorina’s special day on Monday November 15.

Both residents celebrated in style at the care home with Alan enjoying a ride in a Rolls-Royce car, whilst semi-professional pianist Dorina was entertained by a harpist at her party at the care home.

Both Alan and Dorina were born in 1921 and have lived remarkable lives, shaped in no small part by the Second World War with both going on to work and do their bit to help their country during the War years.

Alan was born in Rosyth in Scotland but moved to Rochester in Kent when he was four-years-old.

In his teenage years Alan worked on Air Raid Precautions for St John’s Ambulance and was even injured in a bomb blast, breaking his leg. He then joined the RAF at the age of 18 working as a Medical Orderly, and spent most of his service time in the Middle East.

Dorina was born in London near the Thames.

During the war her home was bombed and her father and two brothers went to work in the Royal Navy, with Dorina going on to work as a military nurse in the British Legion hospital in Maidstone, looking after British casualties from Normandy as well as Spitfire and Hurricane pilots who were shot down in action.

Both Dorina and Alan got married after the War ended with Dorina marrying French Naval Officer Jean-Paul in 1947 in a Manhattan skyscraper during a thunderstorm, whilst Alan returned home to England to marry his beloved wife Mary and work as a carpenter and joiner.

Speaking of his marriage, Alan said: “It was a lovely marriage. We were married for a long time and were very happy together.”

Alan had three children with Mary, and his son Andy visits him at Penpergwm regularly along with his several grandchildren.

Dorina had three children with husband Jean-Paul, daughter Helen and two sons Antoine and Marc. She also has three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Dorina and her husband lived in America for several years after getting married. Incredibly, whilst in America Dorina had her passport taken and destroyed by the British Consulate for not asking their permission to marry.

She was subsequently reported to the FBI and was interrogated on two occasions on the suspicion of being a spy, once at their official headquarters and once when she was taken to Niagara Falls in Canada for further interrogation. At the time of her interrogation in the winter months, Niagara Falls was completely frozen over for the first time in 100 years.

Dorina was kept under surveillance for several years before being proved innocent, and eventually returned home to the UK with her family, serving 16 years as a Brown Owl for a local Brownies & Girl Guides group. S

peaking of her eventful life in America, Dorina says: “My grandchildren jokingly call me ‘James Bond’ because I have a photo of my fingerprints that the FBI took when they interrogated me.”

Speaking about the sprightly duo, Penpergwm’s General Manager, Georgie Llewelyn said: “We’ve had a wonderful week celebrating Alan and Dorina’s birthdays.

‘‘They are both great characters who have lived the most amazing lives and well loved by staff and residents alike and still so very young at heart.

“Celebrating one one-hundredth birthday at the care home is special enough so to have two residents reaching the milestone within a week of each other in next door bedrooms is especially significant and we all wish Alan and Dorina many happy returns.”