Rand Aid Centre resident celebrates 102nd birthday

Rand Aid Ron Smith Care Centre (RSCC) resident, Anne Brokensha, celebrated her 102nd birthday.

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Her celebrations were held at the centre on January 28.

Anne’s daughter, Sue Byrne, who came to spend the day with her alongside other family members, said Anne has outlived all the relatives of her generation and most of her friends.

“In so doing, she has given us daughters Peggy, Sue, Gil, Sheila and Anne, our families, in-laws and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren so much inspiration.

“No matter how old, tired or sick she has been – including two bouts of Covid-19 – she has always had a smile for us, her roommate Ursula and all the lovely women who have cared for her at the Ron Smith Care Centre,” said Sue.

Because of this, Anne is dear to everyone at the centre.

For the celebrations, the centre’s carers dressed to the nines and gave Anne a rousing party.

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“We have been so blessed to have had 102 years (and still going) of this wonderful mom.

“This kind, gentle, loving woman has been our beloved rock for so long,” said Sue.

“Our special thanks go to our sister in America, Anne, for her generosity and all she and her family have done to keep mom at RSCC and enable her to have Thubelihle with her.

“We are blown away by Thube’s level of love, tenderness and attention to detail, and by the caring staff at RSCC’s Cedar Park wing who have loved and cared for our mom as if she were their own. We are a privileged family,” she added.

Anne’s life and legacy span three continents.

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Her life story tells of a challenging childhood that equipped her with many skills, wartime intrigue and, above all, a strong and nurturing personality that has been her family’s guiding light.

Born in India in 1921 to British parents who were based there during World War I, Anne and her family soon returned to England.

Post-war depression prompted them to move to South Africa, where they bought a farm in Maclear in the Eastern Cape.

When Anne was seven, she started school as a weekly boarder.

She and her dad would ride their horses, Ginger and Charles, every Monday, and her father would fetch her again on Fridays.

Her happy early life ended abruptly at the age of nine when her mother died trying to save the family’s Angora rabbits from a burning hutch.

Anne’s father then took a job teaching maths in Malvern, outside Durban.

After her father remarried, the family moved to Egypt.

As there was no school in the village, Anne was home-schooled in maths and general knowledge by her father.
When Anne was 11 her stepmom died while Anne held her hand.

Anne went to high school in Yorkshire, England.

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She rode the 9km to school and back on her bicycle in all sorts of Yorkshire weather.

At 15, she completed school.

After completing secretarial and French courses at a business college, she stayed with a French family in Paris.

There she learnt commercial French and shorthand before returning to Egypt and her father and his new wife.

In Egypt, Anne attended a German school and became as fluent in German as she was in French.

During World War II, 17-year-old Anne left her first job as a private secretary to work for the Land Army to support the war effort.

She had to milk cows and toss hay onto a lorry and later delivered milk.

Anne had to quickly teach herself to drive and, by herself, load the milk crates onto the truck and deliver them in the foggy blackout.

It was at this time that Anne put her name down to serve in the Women’s Royal Naval Service.

Because of her fluency in German and French, she was sent for training and posted to Withernsea and then to Ceylon to keep naval watch.

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Little did she know that the signals from enemy ships and U-boats that she picked up on two monitors simultaneously were sent for decoding to Bletchley Park, the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the war.

Anne later received a medal for the part she played at Bletchley Park.

As required, she signed the Secrecy Act, which was only dissolved in 1975. As such, she kept her role in the war secret from her husband for almost 50 years.

At 97, Anne wrote a book, Memories of 97 Years, so that her family could know what her life entailed.
She has lived at the centre since 2015.

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