Waltham resident Agnes (104) was a violinist for silent movies

This month, she celebrated her 104th birthday with a special party with fellow residents and staff at Waltham Hall nursing home.

Born in Southampton, an only child, Agnes’ first job was playing the violin under the stage at a picture house in the city during silent movies.

She worked as a secretary at a large seed merchants in Southampton for many years and after the Second World War she drove a baker’s van.

Her family home was destroyed by a German bomb during the conflict.

Agnes married John Bull, who died in 1996, and the couple had four children, including twins, although tragically one of her girls died at the age of two following a heart complaint.

They went on to have five grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Agnes, who enjoys a glass of whisky in the evenings, used to love holidays and, when she was 80, travelled by herself to New Zealand.

She has lived at the Waltham home for five years and has had three sets of news hips and two new shoulder joints during her long life.