Aug 2021
Gregory House residents Betty and Ute share childhood wartime memories from two sides
Photo caption: From left to right, Betty and Ute, sat in one of Gregory House’s comfortable lounge areas.
Betty, aged 91, and Ute, aged 89, have become firm friends since moving to Gregory House, in Grantham, last summer. German born Ute Borkertas and English Betty Cobb now live at the Grantham care home.
The two ladies met when Ute moved into the care home in September, just two months after Betty. They quickly became friends as they chatted in Gregory House’s comfortable lounge areas and found much in common, including their wartime memories. During the war Ute lived in Hamburg and Betty in London. They both remember nights of bombing raids and having to move to temporary shelters.
Ute left school in 1947 and trained as a housekeeper but due to the lack of jobs in Germany came to England to look for work in summer 1950. Betty took up an administration job at the local sawmill after leaving school.
Both ladies married at 19 and are now widowed. Betty has a daughter who lives near to the care home. After being evacuated from London to Northampton as a child during the war, Betty then moved in with her Grandmother in Grantham and has lived in the vicinity ever since.
Ute moved to Buckminster, near Grantham, with her husband, where they brought up their four children, including daughter Margaret who visits Gregory House to see her on a regular basis.
Ute and Betty love to sit together at mealtimes and often choose the same meals and both insist on having salt and pepper in the same position on the table. They also share similar interests and can often be found drawing or watching a musical together.
Betty said: “I’ve made some nice friends here at Gregory House and I enjoy spending time with them. I feel very well looked after.”
Ute commented: “I was reluctant at first to move into a care home, but I’ve surprised myself settling in so well. It has been absolutely the right decision for me. From the ladies in the office to the kitchen team, the carers and those in housekeeping, everyone here is wonderful.”
Home Administrator, Lisa Lawlor, said: “It has been wonderful to see Ute and Betty’s friendship blossom. They bonded quickly and found lots in common. We find them sitting together on most days whether that’s for film nights, our drawing and singing activities or just chatting together and keeping an eye on the comings and goings in the home.”