May will see the celebration of one of the members at Wearside Bridge Club in Sunderland. Eleanor Gertrude Foley (nee Hastwell) (pictured above) will be celebrating her 100th birthday!
Eleanor was born on the 27th May 1926 one month after our late Queen Elizabeth. She is still amazingly healthy playing bridge two to three times a week at the club. She walks unaided and is a keen gardener not only tending her own garden but also her neighbours.
Eleanor was born in Middlesborough and during the war, aged 17, she enlisted in the WAAF (Womens Auxiliary Air Force) as a Radar Operator tracking enemy aircraft in the North Sea. Here she met her husband John Foley and after marrying him moved to Sunderland where she has lived ever since.
As a housewife Eleanor enrolled in the Open University and gained an honours degree in English Literature.
In her long career she has been a business studies teacher and a yoga instructor (the latter she attributes to her good health). Eleanor has two children and four grandchildren.
Eleanor has been playing bridge for over 70 years and has attained National Master ranking. In her long bridge career she has played around the world.
Wearside Bridge Club will be celebrating her milestone birthday with a party at the club premises in Sunderland on the 27th May 2026.