100-year-old Banbury woman 'keeeeps dancing' - Ena celebrates with friends and family this weekend

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A 100-year-old Banbury woman with a passion for ballroom dancing celebrates her centenary with friends and family this weekend.

Ena Bowley credits her fitness and longevity to her love of dancing and drinking - lots of water!

“When I was young, I loved to go to dances. My passion for dancing carried on throughout my life. I still go modern sequence dancing every week at GF Club. I’m still learning dances with my long-time dance partner, Joyce, who is only 91,” said Ena – who was born Ena Wincott.

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“My father served as the Town Hall Keeper and Mace Bearer. I tell everyone my brother and I were born in the Town Hall, but we were actually born in a house where NatWest Bank now stands. Life was always bustling in that house but I have very happy memories of it.”

Young Ena Wincott with her mother standing in the doorwayYoung Ena Wincott with her mother standing in the doorway
Young Ena Wincott with her mother standing in the doorway

Banbury was much smaller then and very much a market town. In the streets around the Town Hall, we would see weekly sales of livestock, including sheep, cattle and poultry. Everyone was very smart - men in collars and ties, and women in hats and gloves.”

A pupil at St John’s School in Dashwood Road, Ena was crowned May Queen of 1932. She left school at 14 to work at Alcan.

“In those days, we had to wear a navy-blue uniform in the mail room. But I soon graduated to the personnel department,” she said.

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Like many women her age, she was conscripted to do essential war work - packing ordnance at a factory near Reading.

Ena Bowley who celebrates her 100th birthday with a party on SaturdayEna Bowley who celebrates her 100th birthday with a party on Saturday
Ena Bowley who celebrates her 100th birthday with a party on Saturday

“It was hard being away from home but we were young and we had fun too. I dated an American serviceman stationed near Banbury. It was all very proper. My mother was one of the chaperones at the dances we attended. When it came to it, neither of us wanted to leave our countries but we kept up regular correspondence until he died.”

Returning to Banbury, Ena worked at Pilsworth’s department store in Parson’s Street which led to her meeting Tim Reynolds, whom she married. They were married for 27 years and had a son, Richard, and daughter, Jacqui.

In the mid-1970s, Ena found herself unexpectedly single and working back at Alcan. But a spontaneous stop at a cake shop led to her bumping into Robert Bowley, whom she had dated as a teenager. They married a year later.

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“It was like the stars aligned. We met by accident when we were both single. He was my rock for nearly 40 years. We danced together. For a treat, we would head to London to the Hilton or Grosvenor House Hotel to dance to the big bands led by Sid Lawrence, Joe Loss, Victor Silvester Jnr or Glen Miller’s nephew, John.

The childhood home of Ena Wincott, now demolished and where Nat West Bank standsThe childhood home of Ena Wincott, now demolished and where Nat West Bank stands
The childhood home of Ena Wincott, now demolished and where Nat West Bank stands

"We danced in Banbury too, of course. I think dancing is in my blood - my uncle was the proprietor of Wincott’s cake shop and ballroom. That’s where many of my friends met their husbands.”

Ena still has an incredible zest for life and is a regular on local coach trips to the theatre. A couple of years ago, she attended an André Rieu concert in Birmingham. “The concert was as wonderful as I expected. I listen to his music a lot at home,” she said.

Reflecting on her long life, Ena said: “I used to think being 60 was old but you have to think again about age when your children are over 60! I must admit, at around 95, my legs became a bit wobbly - but it didn’t stop me dancing.”

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When asked about the secret to her long and happy life, Ena says her son summed it up best: “Keep smiling, keep dancing, and keep drinking - water, of course.”

Over 50 of her friends and family will join her on Saturday for afternoon tea and to raise a toast to her remarkable birthday.

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