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Daisy’s secrets to long, happy life

Michele NugentMelville Gazette

These are the words of Daisy Smith, who will celebrate her 100th birthday with family and friends on Thursday at the RAAFA Gordon Lodge in Bull Creek.

"Maybe that has contributed to my great age, but honestly I really think it is in your genes and I come from a family of long-livers," Mrs Smith said.

She and her late husband Harry moved to the RAAFA estate in 2000 after moving to WA from South Australia in 1985 to be close to their daughter and grandchildren.

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Born on May 7, 1915, in Wilmington, Devon in the UK, Daisy Louisa Jane Latimer married Harry Smith at Pedmore Church on July 13, 1940, while he was home on a 36-hour leave after joining the RAA for WWII.

"We had two girls " Anne in 1944 and Bridget in 1946. We now have three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren."

The family migrated to Australia in 1952 on the ship New Australia, which Daisy said was "quite an adventure", taking a month to get to Melbourne in a voyage that included going through the Suez Canal.

And it's not the 100 candles she's most looking forward to - it's the fact she'll get a letter from the Queen.

"I am looking forward to my birthday and the message from the Queen. It is a long time to wait for something like that," she said.

RAAFA chief executive John Murray congratulated Daisy on reaching her "century not out".