Milestone birthday for beloved nurse and creative writer

CELEBRATIONS AS 'INCREDIBLE' MUM AND GRANDMOTHER TURNS 100

- By NAOMI CORRIGAN

AN “incredible” mum and grandmother who worked in nursing across hospitals in Teesside has celebrated turning 100 with family and friends.

Mary Olga King, known to most as Olga, was born on July 27, 1925, in Grangetown between the two world wars.

Aged 15 she went to work in Aysgarth in gentry kitchens and later moved to Wales to join the Women's Timber Corps.

Known as the Lumberjills, the young women of the corps took over the forestry roles left vacant as the men went off to fight in the Second World War.

On returning to Teesside, Olga worked as a nurse at Holgate Hospital which was initially part of the Middlesbrough Workhouse, as well as Poole Hospital in Nunthorpe and Normanby Hospital.

Olga also worked as a district nurse and, in her 50s, decided to take her GCSEs to help her develop her skills in one of her favourite hobbies - creative writing.