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The two great-grandmas, from Stockport, had a surprise party with their families. And they recalled growing up in the town south of Manchester.

When they were just eight they would go down to the railway lines to look for coal that had fallen off trains, so they could light the fire at home.

“We didn’t have much, we were very poor,” they said. But they also recalled fun times, playing out on the streets and being mischievous.

Elma laughed: “We would knock on doors and run off.”

At 14 the sisters, who had three other siblings, landed jobs as packers with Smiths crisps and stayed there until they both married aged 21.

Elma wed Bill Hewitt, a joiner, and Thelma wed Joseph Barratt, a hatter, just as the Second World War started.

Elma recalls seeing Manchester on fire: “The whole of the city was red with the bombs.”

Thelma now lives in Kirkham, Lancs, and Elma is still in Stockport, but they regularly speak on the phone – and still enjoy trips to the seaside.

Mother-of-two Elma, has six great-grandchildren, while Thelma has five great-grandchildren.

Thelma said: “I sometimes say to Elma, did you ever think we would get to this age?

“I mean, we are getting on a bit.”

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