We are celebrating Jean's 100th. birthday on 17 August 2014.  Jean has had a long and interesting life.  She was born in Odessa in Russia just before then outbreak of the Great War and remained in Russia until the Revolution in 1916 when the family escaped to Constantinople in a cattle train, being robbed by "brigands" on the way.  After a spell in Paris the family returned to live in Beckenham.  Jean returned to France for a "finishing year" in 1932.  She married in 1937 and lived in Ashtead Park.  Her husband's wartime romance led to a divorce after which she met Hilary Blackmore at a dance in Ashtead and they married and moved to Eaton Terrace to a house not far from Rosa Lewis' (The Duchess of Duke Street) pub.  Hilary was a director of Libertys where he ran the wholesale company and the design studio from which the Lotus revival emerged and catapulted Libertys back into the forefront on high fashion with many exclusive collections in France, Italy and USA.  Jean and Hilary went regularly to the "collections" in Paris, Rome and Milan and mixed with the leading fashion designers of the time.  They retired to Midhurst in 1964 where Jean has lived ever since.

By the time you have reached Jean's age there is little that you need and rather than celebrating her birthday with flowers or presents Jean would prefer that you made a donation to Chestnut Tree House -   one of the very few Hospices for children - which she has supported with a covenant for some time. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.