Wychdene residential home resident Stanley (Stan) Barnes has marked his 100th birthday
Stan was born on August 9th, 1924, in Seven Kings, Ilford. His dad worked on the railways and Stan had two sisters.
Stan learnt to play the piano, and when he went to the Boys Brigade was also given bagpipes, using a chanter (a type of whistle with 8 notes) to aid his learning.
He left school at 14 and got a job at Plessy’s electrical company. He went to evening classes to learn technical drawing and this led to electrical engineering training. He was seconded to carry out war work in a reserved occupation so was not drafted.
In 1952 he married Sheila, who he met when they were paired together at ballroom dancing classes. Sheila was 4ft 11 and Stan was 5ft 1 so they were a perfect fit.
He used to visit Sheila when she was training to be an infant school teacher at Bishop Otter in Chichester. He would drive down on his motorbike. He taught himself maintenance on motorbikes and cars through necessity and interest.
They moved to Bexleyheath in Kent where their son Christopher was born in 1958 . Sheila was not impressed when Stan was late to visit her in hospital to see Christopher for the first time but Stan had been looking for their cat Dinky. Stan has a strong love of cats. Sheila was not so keen.
Daughter Jennifer was born in 1962 at home so Stan was not delayed by the cat in seeing the newborn that time.
Stan joined the civil service and in 1965 he was posted to Gibraltar where he was seconded to the Army to help with improving the conditions in the tunnels in Gibraltar that were used by the servicemen.
Dinky was taken on by the neighbour but came back voluntarily to the household on their return. Stan’s devotion to the cat had obviously been remembered.
Stan was not keen to go to Gibraltar but he now looks on it as one of the best things that happened to him as the whole family benefited from living there and holidaying in the surrounding countries. They explored Morocco with a niece by fitting five of them into a Ford Anglia for a camping holiday.
Returning to the UK, Sheila worked at a local infant school and Stan continued to work for the civil service sorting out heating systems for its many buildings, from the Houses of Parliament to the British Museum – the district heating scheme involved pioneering work.
He always enjoyed photography and had won, with Christopher, prizes for his photographs when in Gibraltar. He continued his interest, building his own dark room to develop his photos and slides and he also took cine films. He was an active member of the Stereoscopic Society and his cameras grew in number with the addition of video cameras when they became available.
Stan was also a keen DIY-er and decorated, rewired and repaired anything and everything. He helped his son build the first computer, the zx81, and embraced new technology. Stan was a dab hand at car repairs too.
Stan’s son married and moved to Devon with his wife where they started their own family -Stan’s grandchildren David and Philippa. Although the children live in Devon the proud grandparents enjoyed looking after them during holidays in Broadstairs.
When Jennifer and her partner Bernard started looking for places to rent, Stan and Sheila suggested that Bernard move into the family home until Jennifer had finished her professional training and Bernard had finished his degree so they’d then know where their work would take them and be in a better place to find somewhere to live. Bernard and Jenny eventually moved to Woking in 1987 and Stan helped them get the house in order.
Free of children, Stan and Sheila started having fun in their new hometown of Broadstairs.
They took up Bridge and Stan later ran the Bridge club at Holy Trinity Church in Margate for nearly 30 years. They enjoyed bowls at the club in Margate, they went to Tai chi and art classes at the Hilderstone centre.
Stan took up golf at North Foreland golf club and in his usual practical way cut down the golf clubs to suit him. The couple also travelled and had lots of holidays and cruises, including to the Caribbean, China, Hong Kong, Canada, America, Europe and Norway.
They ate out regularly and were often in Aqua, the Grill, The House of Coffee (as was), Beano’s, Crampton’s and the San Clu in Ramsgate.
As he got older Stan’s curiosity about gadgets didn’t stop. He had a series of laptops and printers. He bought a music keyboard and enjoyed making music once again. He embraced pastel and watercolour paintings, which he of course framed himself. He started doing cross stitch and long stitch, examples of his work still decorate his bedroom.
Stan kept an eye on health news. He has never really enjoyed food, only eating because he needs to, so he has stayed slim and never had cravings for chocolate or crisps that many people have. He would have a small glass of red wine and a small square of chocolate because he said it was good for you, not because he particularly enjoyed it.
He and Sheila lived in their bungalow together for over 30 years. Stan took on more of the household duties as Sheila became less able. When Sheila became too frail they made the decision that it would be best if they both went into a local care home.
They both moved to Wychdene Residential home in Callis Court Road Broadstairs in December 2019. Sheila was 90 and Stan was 95. He was still using his electric buggy to get into town for coffee.
Sadly, Sheila died in February 2020. Stan decided to stay in Wychdene rather than live on his own. In the home he started a new hobby of crochet. He taught himself by watching YouTube videos. He also taught himself how to knit using a loom. He made toys for his great grandson Felix, born in 2020 to his granddaughter Philippa and her partner Luke, shortly before Stan’s 96th birthday.
Felix was soon joined by a sister Eleanor, (Elle). More recently Stan’s other grandson David and his partner added another granddaughter, Magalie, to the family tree.
Stan keeps in touch with family using his mobile phone and Alexa and has kept himself supplied with wool and crafting equipment by buying off eBay and Amazon. He reads books which he downloads onto his phone from the library. He made a crochet bag to carry his phone with him wherever he goes. He’s a fan of Netflix, and Britbox (ITV4) watching Death in Paradise and New Tricks.
In the last 6 months Stan’s health has become more fragile and he has relied more on the care provided by the carers at Wychdene. Family say it is due to their care and his determination that he has made it to the grand age of 100.
Wychdene held a special party for Stan’s 100th with a cake and sparklers and hanging decorations in the dining room. He was pleased with his card from the King and Queen. The family are very grateful to all who work at the home for keeping such a careful and kind eye on Stan.
His family are very proud of Stan and all he has achieved. They have all benefited from his knowledge, curiosity and determination and say he is a hard act to follow.