Her fair share of drama

World War Two, flooding and a global pandemic – it’s fair to say Margaret Edge has experienced her fair share of drama during her 98 years on the planet.

Although, as you can see from the photograph of her, it’s certainly done nothing to age her because whilst her birth certificate may say she was born in 1926, she could easily pass for someone at least 20 years younger!

Born and bred in Doncaster, Margaret spent the bulk of her teenage years experiencing the Second World War and although the town was occasionally targeted by Hitler’s Luftwaffe, it was neighbouring areas which suffered the most.

“Sheffield was one of the main targets because of the steel industry and we could see and hear it from Doncaster,” Margaret recalls.

Margaret went on to work in an office and it was there she met and fell in love with Clifford, marrying when she was 27. The couple (Clifford died sadly in 2000) had three children and Margaret now also has five grandchildren.

On 8 November 2019, a month’s worth of rain fell on the Doncaster area in 24 hours, flooding 1,500 buildings, including the bungalow in Fishlake where Margaret lived.

Margaret remembers: “The first thing I knew was when my daughter came up and said, we’re getting flooded and that I would have to move my things.

“I went to the door and could see the water and because we were on a slope I could see it slowly rising.

“We had had a lot of rain before so I thought we would be ok but then it started coming through the bricks and they eventually had to come and rescue me in a dinghy, which was quite an experience!”

Margaret’s home was eventually rebuilt (from a bungalow into a two-storey home) but she had to wait longer to return than anticipated due to the pandemic.

Caremark Doncaster now provides support with our Care Assistants visiting Margaret four times a day to help with tasks such as meal preparation.

“The carers are all very nice and respectful,” she says.

“It provides me peace of mind knowing I can stay here with their support.”