It’s not every day you make it to 101, but for one Whakatāne resident that day came recently, bringing with it plenty of fanfare.

Betty Reynolds, a former Royal Air Force member, celebrated her 101st birthday on September 19 with a party at the Whakatāne RSA, surrounded by friends, family and members of the community.

Reynolds moved to New Zealand in 2010 after her husband passed away, joining her son, Tim Reynolds, who had immigrated in 1979.

She has a long history of service, having joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force in England shortly after World War II.

The WAAF was later brought into the Royal Air Force, where Reynolds worked in the post office and helped with collecting and sorting mail.

She was taught to drive by members of the Air Force’s motor transport group while they collected mail, and after leaving the Air Force she booked driving lessons so she could get her civilian driving licence.

“The man who came in for my first lesson said to me, ‘why have you booked lessons?’ I said, because I need a licence. I love driving. He said you don’t need lessons and gave me my licence.”

She wanted to become an ambulance driver and passed the test but decided against it when they could not find a uniform small enough for her, and she didn’t like the hat.

Although she wanted to stay in the Air Force, Reynolds said she had to leave, so she could earn more money to help support her family and pay for the university education of her brother, who went on to become a pharmacist.

She said her next posting would have been Singapore, which she had been looking forward to.

“I wish I could have stayed in the Air Force; I could have gone to Singapore, and I met some lovely people. I have stopped over in Singapore many times since, I love the country, the people are so friendly.”

Reynolds can recall meeting the late Prince Philip at a dance, an evening event regularly held in the local village hall close to RAF Rudloe Manor, Wiltshire, where she was stationed. Prince Philip, then known as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, served nearby at HMS Royal Arthur, a training school, as an instructor for petty officer cadets.

She remembers him dancing throughout the evening, despite reports in the newspaper saying he danced only once.

“We all laughed when we read it. He never sat down. He danced every dance that was going,” she said.

Before joining the Air Force, at 16, Reynolds was called up to do war work and chose to become a bus conductor, or “clippy”, instead of working in a factory.

She worked on local buses in Birmingham, including routes carrying workers to and from ammunition factories.

During the war, passengers would sometimes bring her food because supplies were rationed.

One passenger brought her eggs, and another brought her fruit.

“People were really kind,” Reynolds said.

She remembers clearly the dangers of living through the war.

During one air raid, her mother sent her across the road to fetch her brother.

As she ran, she heard a loud boom and felt the earth shake.

Reynolds thought it was a thunderstorm, something she had always been frightened of.

“I was petrified of thunderstorms. And I thought this was a thunderstorm. And actually, it was a landmine, dropped by parachute in nearby Kingstanding. One of the first to be dropped by plane.”

Reynolds said the bombing itself did not frighten her in the same way.

She has now lived through more than a century of change and said her time in the Air Force introduced her to many people and helped her adjust after the war.

At 101, Reynolds is still enjoying getting out and meeting people, even if it’s sometimes an effort to leave the house.

“I’ll think about it for days, but I have to psych myself up to get myself to go. But when once I’m there, I have a lovely, lovely time.”

She is also grateful for the ongoing support she receives from her Disability Resource Centre carers.

“My first carer of the day is Maisie. She comes Monday to Friday to gets me up at about 7 o’clock, gets me ready for the day and she’s wonderful; they are all wonderful and friendly, looking after me very well.”

Other carers provide help around lunchtime and in the evening.

Reynolds has a fondness for sherry and red wine and jokes that sherry may be what had got her to 101.

“I must have a terrible reputation. All the carers that come here, first thing they do is get me a glass of sherry; it must be what’s keeping me going.”

Her birthday party was filled with people she knew, as well as others who came simply because they wanted to meet someone who had reached 101.

She said she had a wonderful time and is grateful to her son and daughter-in-law, Vicky Reynolds, for organising it.

“I was completely spoiled,” she said. “I was mesmerised by so many people … I can’t believe so many people knew me.”

She said it was good to see Judith Rimmer and her family, who travelled from Rotorua.

Rimmer married Tim’s childhood best friend, Brian Rimmer, in England.

They moved to New Zealand in 1972, a couple of years before Tim, who stayed with them in Wellington during a working holiday before moving to New Zealand.

“I can’t believe so many people know my name. I would like to thank the RSA, their staff and especially the Karaoke Club members for encouraging me to come down and making me feel so welcome.”