Sporty Seaton mum of five sons celebrates 100th birthday

Seaton resident Connie Wellington has celebrated her 100 birthday.

Mrs Wellington is still very active and does the crossword every day.

She is mother to five boys and has led a very interesting life, having seen three coronations and five monarchs. George V was on the throne when she was born; the first coronation she saw was George VI, who was the last Viceroy of India, and in 1953 she travelled by train to Queen Elizabeth's coronation in London.

She watched as much coverage of our new King Charles' coronation as she could. 

Mrs Wellington grew up in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, and moved to Seaton in 1985.

Her father, Arthur Speed, fought through the First World War as a sergeant major and her mother Annie was a lay Methodist preacher. 

She helped her father with his sign-writing, gold leafing and painting pictorial pub signs but wanted to become a teacher and was accepted by Southlands College in Wimbledon. 

Unfortunately, the Second World War was taking place so the college made its temporary home in Weston-Super-Mare. One of her first jobs was teaching at the little school near Priddy Green on the Mendips. Her best friend and colleague was the mother of Michael Evis, host of the Glastonbury Festival.

Connie met her husband Gordon at a dance in Compton Martin, in the Chew Valley. Gordon and Connie expanded her father's decorating and sign-writing business in Midsomer Norton, called F. Speed and Sons.

At one point there were 40 men working for them, building houses and painting and decorating. Gordon organised the workers and Mrs Wellington did much of the paperwork and taught part-time as well as bringing up five boys.

She was a keen sportswoman and was captain of Somerset Ladies hockey team. She loved tennis and still watches Wimbledon every year, and carried on playing tennis after moving to Seaton. Connie would also ferry her five sons and friends around to football matches.

She retired after moving to Seaton but continued to run a tea and tots group. She was very active with Churches Together in Seaton, running a swimming club and organising coach trips to various pools.  

Her son Simon reminisced: "She had a nice low-slung soft top vintage Mercedes sports car in gold. The chassis broke and she had to replace it. 

"She was in her 80s and my brother Timothy took her to the car showrooms to choose a sensible car that she could easily get in and out of. He made the mistake of taking her to the Mercedes showroom first where she saw the newest version of her old sports car. It was a bright shiny blue and when she sat in it, she found a button that would retract the roof automatically. She had to buy it! 

 "Connie carried on driving it until her 90s and reverted to a mobility scooter. Even then the salesman had to sprint down the pavement after her as she tried it out. She went so fast up onto the pavement that it lurched along on two wheels. It was the funniest sight seeing the poor chap running down the road after her, waving his arms and shouting to her to slow down.

"When I look back at the changes over mum's lifetime with technology, medicines and transport, it is truly remarkable. Her father had the first car in Midsomer Norton and a crowd of people came out to see if it could traverse the steep hill called Silver Street coming out of the village. Mum and her two sisters had to jump out of the car and help push it up the hill.

 "She saw the first black and white TV sets, then colour, then online TV. Telephones were just for the rich. There were no washing machines, just a boiler tub that she would pump the washing with a big heavy stick. This same bleached white stick was used to chase me around the garden to clobber me with.

 "In 1969, her friend from college told her that she saw the first jet aircraft fly over her as she was playing golf at Filton, Bristol. Also in 1969, we sat watching the moon landing with her and her Dad. He pointed out to me how TV, telephones, cars and now space travel were not imaginable at my grandfather's birth, but mum was seeing the World transformed since her birth in 1923. 

 "Mum has fought Covid twice, last time was just a few weeks ago. She was taken by ambulance to Exeter Hospital during the night. My wife and I visited her later that morning. We were told that Covid had taken a real grip on her and she also had pneumonia. They would give her treatment and drugs but just a small amount as we agreed, we did not want her to suffer. We left her in the hospital in a delirious state with an oxygen mask across her face and were told not to be hopeful.

"But within a couple of days, she was sat up and although she still had a mask on, she wanted to be taken home. Ten days later she was back home. She said her motivation was not to miss out on her 100th birthday - and the card from the King!"