A family has put up what they believe is Britain’s oldest Christmas tree which at 97 has survived gale force winds and World War Two bombings.
The 2ft tree has been passed down through a family’s maternal line since it was first purchased by Elizabeth Naylor from Woolworths at Christmas in 1920.
It was named William’s tree because it was bought for her eldest son William’s first Christmas – and, after his premature death aged 19 in 1940, the tree became a memorial to him.
The family have continued their special tradition of decorating and displaying the artificial spruce each year.
This Christmas tree belonging to Kay Ashton is believed to be the UK’s oldest. Pictured is Mrs Ashton’s granddaughter Phoebe Plaistow with the tree
Mrs Ashton said the tree was bought by her grandmother Elizabeth Naylor in 1920 and was named William’s tree for her first son, who later died aged just 19
When Ms Naylor- known as Nanan – died in 1981 aged 80, her beloved tree was inherited by her daughter, Joyce Ashton.
When she passed away in 2012, Kay Ashton became the third generation to own William’s Tree.
Despite being battered by a bombing in 1941 and gale force winds in the 1960s, the tree is still standing – and is lovingly decorated with its original 1920s trimmings every year.
Grandmother-of-three Ms Ashton, 63, of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, said: ‘It’s a great piece of history and I’m so glad to have it.
‘To think the tree has stayed the same for almost 100 years but everything around it has changed so much. The things it will have seen.
‘It’s outlived two generations and even the shop it was bought from, so it’s obviously made of strong stuff. I get it out every year and decorate it and it takes pride of place in my living room.
‘It’s a bit battered but it’s definitely a talking point and people are always amazed when I tell them it was bought just two years after the First World War.
‘I think my Nanan would be really touched to know the tree is still going strong and being used – and so would William.
The tree, pictured with Phoebe, is said to have survived the Blitz in Sheffield as well as gale force winds
Ms Ashton said the tree, pictured with festive decorations, even outlasted the shop it was bought from
The family say they will have a party when the tree, pictured, reaches 100 years old
‘We’ll definitely have to have a party when it reaches 100. It’s amazing to think it’s lived through so much. I can’t imagine it not being around.’
Ms Ashton explained: ‘My Nanan always had the tree in the kitchen. It was the only tree she ever had.
‘During the Sheffield Blitz in the Christmas of 1941 they’d been warned to leave the house, but instead the whole family went down into the cellar.
‘My Nanan had put a heavy wrought iron mangle against the back door to keep it closed.
‘But when a bomb was dropped across the road, the force blew the back door open, and the mangle went flying across the room and into the tree.
‘When they came back upstairs, the living room was a mess – with the tree lying in the middle of it.
‘The top of it had nearly come off and it’s been bent ever since, but it was fixed with sellotape and wire – some of the original bits of tape are still on the tree and I daren’t take them off.
‘Then in 1962, Sheffield was hit by awful gales, people were even killed when buildings collapsed.
Mas Ashton said the force of a bomb blast over the road caused everything in her grandmother’s Sheffield home to ‘go flying’ in 1941, but the tree was found slightly bent but still in one piece
Over the years it has undergone slight repairs with tape and was once almost blown into a fire by winds, but is set to continue on with the next generation of the family
‘I remember being at my nanan’s house, and she asked my mother to close the back door. But before we knew, it, the tree had gone flying across the room and almost into the fire.
‘She cried: ‘The bloody tree nearly went into the fire’ and it made us all laugh.
‘My Nanan took great care with the tree and its decorations, and to this day I’ll only decorate William’s tree with the original decoration she used.
‘There’s an ornament shaped like a dog with a dead bird in its mouth that hangs on the tree. It does sound a bit gory but it was my favourite when I was little.’
Ms Ashton, a customer service advisor, said her two daughters, Amy Wilcox, 45, and Rebecca Goodhand, 38, would keep up the family tradition.
And as Mrs Goodhand has two daughters, Phoebe, 13 and Tallulah, 11, the tradition is set to continue into its fifth generation.