A women who nearly died when a Wellington Bomber T2905 came close to crashing into her home in WWII, has celebrated her 100 th birthday.
Celebrating with 30 of her dearest friends and family at Saltford Golf Club, Gwyneth Browne was excited to open the card she had received from King Charles III and Queen Camilla wishing her a happy 100th birthday last week.
Gwyneth was born in on June 13, 1923 at 14 Maurice Road, Bristol to parents William and Olga Williams. An only child, she was encouraged to follow her passion for art and went on to gain a Bachelor of Art Degree at the University of the West of England.
One evening during WWII on 30 April 1941 whilst studying at home she heard a terrific noise outside and realised it was an aircraft which seemed to be heading straight for the house. She thought she might die and took cover then heard it crash into St Andrews Park opposite her.
It was Wellington Bomber T2905 on a training run from Cambridge which had flown too close to Bristol’s air defences and become entangled in the barrage balloon wires. It was a shockingly near miss but thankfully she went on to live a long, healthy, and fulfilling life and is delighted, if not a little surprised, to have reached this tremendous age with all her faculties intact.
It’s less than a year since she stopped driving. She said that as she approached her 100th that maybe she should stop.
Gwyneth went on to become an Art Teacher at, among other schools, Colston Girls School which she had previously been a pupil, spent 17 years as Head of Art at Withywood Comprehensive and later Head of Art at Oldfield School in Bath.
She never lost her passion for art and was a prolific painter in her spare time, regularly exhibiting at the Bath Society of Artists Annual Exhibition at Victoria Art Gallery and at the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol. She has also exhibited in the Mall Gallery in London.
Gwyneth met the love of her life, Charles, at a poetry reading in a coach house in Bristol in 1944. Charles later went on to become a lecturer in Archaeology. They married in 1951 in St Bernadette’s Church in Bristol and in 1964 moved to a house on the then newly built Chandag Estate in Keynsham where she still lives to this day.
For many years Gwyneth and Charles travelled extensively around Europe in a jolly orange campervan, visiting various historical and cultural places; Gwyneth chose to visit the art galleries and Charles the archeological sites.
Often Gwyneth could be seen outside cafes with her sketchbook capturing the views and the people as they went about their day. They were both lovers of classical music and took in as many concerts and musical recitals as they could along the way. However, it wasn’t until 2018 that she managed to see her first ever concert at the Royal Albert Hall! Sadly, she lost her beloved Charles about 18 years ago.
When asked what was her secret to a long and happy life, she said: “Being an optimist.”
