A GREAT-GRANDMOTHER who set up Bishop’s Meadow filling station with her husband more than 60 years ago has celebrated her 100th birthday.

Dorothy Perry celebrated the milestone on Saturday (September 22) with a card from the Queen as well as a visit from Brecon mayor Manny Trailor and Powys council chairman David Meredith. Dorothy also enjoyed a family gathering on Sunday.

Dorothy’s son Howard said his mother was a “remarkable lady” who had been the “driving force” behind the business on the outskirts of Brecon which grew to become a complex which at various times included a motel, three restaurants and a caravan park.

Dorothy, who was born in Pencelli and was one of seven children, still lives in Bishop’s Meadow House today.

After leaving school she worked in domestic service for the De Winton family in Llanfrynach. She met her future husband Stanley, who most people knew as ‘Bronco’, as a teenager. The sweethearts were to marry and have four children. Howard was the only boy while the three girls were Gaynor, Marjorie and Helen.

The land where they established the petrol station was originally owned by the church, hence the name Bishop’s Meadow. Some years later the motel, which has now been turned into flats, was awarded a civic prize for its architecture – an occasion which was graced by then Labour MP Tudor Watkins and the lady mayoress.

After Bronco died in 1983, Dorothy showed plenty of determination in continuing to run the business.

Her son Howard said it was only when Dorothy was “aged 76 or 77 that she was finally persuaded to retire”.

Howard said: “My parents were very successful. There weren’t as many cars around in the 1950s as there are now but they turned their filling station idea into a thriving business – a bit like a modern motorway services. Obviously times have changed and the arrival of the bypass meant the business had to diversify, hence the establishment of the caravan park.

“My mother was a remarkable lady. She didn’t like to be in the limelight but she was the driving force who cooked all the meals and kept the business running. “She was very generous. If someone turned up at 10 o’clock at night she’d keep the ovens on so they could have a meal. Nothing was too much trouble.

“She has been a wonderful mother. A very generous lady who would give you her last penny.”

Howard added that Cllr Meredith, who visited his mother on her birthday, had worked at Bishop’s Meadow, part time for many years.

Dorothy’s only surviving sibling, Cyril, celebrated his 89th birthday on Monday.