Banbury woman to be reunited with twin sister for special 100th birthday celebration

Dorcas Tobin plans to meet her twin sister, Edith, at a relative's house in nearby Bodicote to celebrate the landmark birthday on Sunday June 28. Around eight family members plan to gather in garden chairs outside her nephew's house.

Dorcas is looking forward to the reunion as she has not been able to leave her Banbury property since before the lockdown.

She said: "It's going to be quite a reunion. I've got my hair dresser coming on the Saturday morning to be ready."

"I haven't been out since March, but I have been out in the garden."

Dorcas enjoys three walks a day to the allotments at the back end of her garden, which she calls a 300-step journey.

Before the lockdown Dorcas periodically met up with her sister, often at a halfway point between their two homes. Edie lives with her daughter in Leominster Hereford.

Dorcas said: "I'm the youngest by 45 minutes. Of course, years ago people didn't know they were carrying twins."

Dorcas was born in East Street, Easington, Banbury. She has spent most of her nearly 100 years living in Banbury. One of her two children, Robert, now lives with her in Banbury.

She added: "We've had quite a peaceful life here in Banbury.

"After my husband, Horace, and I got married we fostered little babies for probably four or five years."

Dorcas now has two of her own, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Horace Tobin was a career firefighter stationed in Banbury, who died at the age of 80 after 33 years of marriage to Dorcas.

Dorcas has held a number of jobs throughout her life, but one of her favourite roles was during her time serving in the Women's Land Army in World War II.

She said: "All my life I've lived in Banbury apart from when I was in the Land Army. It was one of the best times of my life. I really enjoyed it. You were out in the open air."

"Being in the Land Army, we didn't hear any bombing apart from the one dropped in the canal."

She also later worked with her husband at Wykham School (now Wykham Park Academy). Her husband served as the caretaker for the school after he retired as a firefighter, and Dorcas served as a cleaner at the school.

Both twins, Dorcas and Edie, are cancer survivors.

Dorcas said: "We're both very well actually for our age, but my sister is losing her sight some."

She has not found a secret for recipe to living a long life.

But Dorcas added: "I've always been active. I've just got on with life. You know you have your ups and downs, but you just get on with it.

"I don't eat anything special. We eat what we want, and we eat when we're hungry."

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