Jean Harrower celebrates her century on Remembrance Day surrounded by family

Jean was born on November 11, 1921, and shares her birthday with fellow veterans on Remembrance Day.

As a veteran herself, the day holds a special place in her heart, and she also had family members who served in the Great War.

"I had four uncles who were in the war, and they all came back injured which was unfortunate," Jean said.

By the time World War II reached Australia's shores, Jean felt duty bound and joined the Australian Army Medical Women's Services in 1943. She spent time in Ingleburn and Goulburn working as a nurse.

"The Army took over mental institutions and we had to help returned veterans and patients," she said.

During her time in the service, she met her husband Leslie who was a driver with the 52nd Anti-Aircraft Regiment.

The couple married after the war and moved to Frederickton in 1946, where they raised their six children.

She worked as a dressmaker and at a nursing home, but said she was proud to see how far women's working rights have come.

"In my day if you were married you couldn't work, the government wouldn't allow you to, but later in life they brought in that women were allowed to, and that's great," Jean said.

Looking back over her life, she believes that there is a lot of division in society at the moment.

"The lifestyle was so different, the whole style of living was better back then, I don't know what it was, but people seemed to mix in more with each other and help each other more," Jean said.

She was tight-lipped on her secrets of longevity, but her 93 year old sister, Betty Tierney, was happy to share.

"It's probably her having six kids, they definitely kept her busy over the years," Betty said.

The event took place at the veterans lunch which is held every year after the Remembrance Day ceremony.

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