Winnie; 'I’m the matriarch'

Winnie was born in Peckham in 1924. The youngest of 11 children. Winnie may have been the baby of the family, but this year she turned 100 years old.  

Winnie has suffered a lot of loss in her life. She lost her daughter in 2020, her son 17 years ago and has just lost a grandson. Her husband has been gone 34 years. When asked how she copes with this, she says: ‘You just got to, there's nothing you can do about it. It happens. When you've got other people in the family you've got to be strong for them and help them to get through it. I’m the matriarch of this family.’ 

Winnie has been part of Link Age Southwark since the beginning: ‘It gets you out of the house, you can make friends’. Winnie enjoys the opportunity Link Age Southwark offers for immersing herself within the local community: ‘I’ve got to know different people, different ways of life, different backgrounds.’ 

Over the years with the charity, Winnie has enjoyed being creative including projects with Dulwich Picture Gallery where she did a six-week painting course and clay modelling. Winnie says: ‘People belong together, you knew we were all people that wanted to get out from the four walls and see something different.’ She talks fondly of seeing everyone having fun together. ‘It’s just like one big family.’