The oldest woman in Wakefield and a 'true lady' has died at the age of 110

Margaret Hammond, who lived in Normanton, always made an impression on the people she met, and enjoyed dancing, amateur dramatics and hiking in her youth.

Daughter Lynda Lawrence said: “She was a wonderful mother to four, grandma to eight, great nan to 10 with one on its way, and also a much loved auntie and sister.

"She made many friends – young and old and everyone liked her. She lived independently until she was 105 then moved into Haven Lodge Care Home, where I'm sure she was one of the favourites.

"We will say goodbye next Thursday with all her family. She was a true lady who will not be forgotten.”

Margaret was born on May 25, 1912, in Wombwell near Barnsley to Harold and Clara Shevill, and was the oldest of four children.

After school she worked in the Co-Operative restaurant and later a tailors shop in Barnsley.

She married Noel Lesley Hammond, or Les for short, in 1936 and they went on to have four children.

Sadly, she lost her son, Bob, in 2020,

Margaret moved to Wakefield shortly after her 101st birthday to be closer to daughter.

Lynda said that Margaret was the eldest woman in west, south and East Yorkshire, but understood that there was an older woman who lived in North Yorkshire.

When the Express spoke to Lynda in 2019 to mark Margaret’s 107th birthday, she said: Lynda said: “In her youth, Margaret enjoyed going to dances, she was a member of the Co-Op amateur dramatics, and a member of a hiking group that took her all over the Yorkshire moors in all weathers.”

She was visited regularly by family and was “always ready for a laugh and a joke with the care staff”.

Later in life she was a frequent visitor to Morrisons on Dewsbury Road and for her 100th birthday she was treated to a surprise party, thrown for her by the staff at the Barnsley branch, where she was a weekly shopper.

The late Sir Ken Morrison, former chairman of the supermarket, was there to wish her a happy birthday.

Her funeral will be held Thursday, January 19 at Wakefield crematorium at 1.20pm.