Remarkable Louie, from De Lucy Care Home in Diss, toasts 105th year

Not content with reaching three figures, an amazing woman with a jest for life celebrated her 105th birthday at the weekend.

Louie ‘Hocky’ Lazell, enjoyed a surprise party on Sunday, and was proud to receive a card from the King and Queen.

The centenarian was born in Clapham, London, on September 15, 1919, and was one of seven children.

As a girl, she worked as a bookkeeper and gained the nickname Hocky – a shortform of her maiden name, Hockett.

During the Second World War, she worked as an officer for the fire brigade and remembers celebrating her 21st birthday in an underground air raid shelter.

It was during this time that she met her late husband, Bert, who she married at the end of the conflict.

In 1966, the couple moved to Stowupland, where they ran its post office and country store, before retiring in the 1990s.

She said her secret to living such a long life was keeping active.