'I'm almost 100 - I don’t like countries at war'

Edith Roberts served as a Wren at Bletchley Park during World War Two

While thousands of young voters will head to the polls for the first time on Thursday, for some of the UK's oldest residents it is a task they have done almost two dozen times.

Born in 1924 and soon to turn 100, Edith Roberts from Newcastle is one of many nonagenarians preparing to vote on the issues that matter the most to them.

Mrs Roberts has lived through World War Two and the creation of the NHS - both have had a lasting effect on her life.

As a young woman she served in the Wrens - the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) - where she "broke codes from the Germans" at Bletchley Park.

"I was 19 when I was in the Wrens and I stayed for nearly four years," she says. "It was very secretive. We couldn’t say anything about the work at all.

"You were just classed as a writer but in actual fact we were working with very, very big Enigma machines that threw out the coding."

World War Two had a profound effect on her and she still longs for an end to war.

"I'd like to see peace, I don’t like countries at war," she says. "Life is too short."

'Living alone'

During her childhood, Mrs Roberts lived in the blue house that gave Newcastle's Blue House Roundabout its name. These days she lives in a care home in Gosforth.

One of her major concerns going into this election is the NHS and she wants waiting times to be reduced.

"There is a lot of waiting when you go into a hospital," she says.

"You do have quite a long wait because they are kept very busy."

She also wants politicians to make sure there are enough care homes for the elderly.

"That would be very good because some old folk are living on their own and it must be a struggle."

Averil Rowe served as a Wren in the Navy's Fleet Air Arm

Averil Rowe, 100, lives in Brunswick Village in Newcastle and also served in the Wrens during the war.

Mrs Rowe was stationed in Scotland with the Navy's Fleet Air Arm and worked her way up to become a petty officer.

She grew up in Thropton, a hamlet in Northumberland, where she said the community and her family were largely Conservative.

"I have never been anything other than Conservative and I will always remain a Conservative," she says.

But despite her political leanings, the Tories' focus on immigration is not a priority she shares.

"Sometimes there may be too many [people] but then how are you going to stop them?" she asks.

"A lot of the people who come here just settle down and just get on with things."

Surprisingly, she has a soft spot for Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

"I think he is a very worthwhile man, actually," she says.

"He has a lot to talk about and most of what you hear him talk about is very good common sense."

But her fondness for the Labour leader is not enough to convince her to vote for him.

Averil Rowe grew in Thropton and said the community was largely Conservative when she was a child

Dorothy Heron, 97, grew up in Springwell Village in Sunderland but moved to Eighton Banks in Gateshead when she married her husband, Gordon.

After a brief stint working in Bainbridge's department store, Mrs Heron gave up her retail career to look after her two daughters.

Instead of taking on paid work, she chose instead to volunteer. She worked at a birth control clinic, a baby and toddler group and made lunches for the elderly.

Her love of children has led her to believe that the biggest issue for the next generation is education, and she wants politicians to focus on improving schools.

She also remembers the birth of the NHS.

"It was a gift to the country when it was first started," she said.

"I remember hearing conversations about people getting dentures and glasses that they couldn’t afford prior."

But she says she has heard the NHS is "in a bad way" and understands why doctors might want to move to other countries with "better working conditions".

"People can only work under pressure for so long and then things will go wrong," she says.

Dorothy Heron described the NHS as a gift

Mrs Heron is a swing voter and says at one point or another she has "voted for everybody".

But the election betting scandal has tarnished her views of the Tories.

"In my day, I don’t think the Conservative members were perfect but this is below the belt to me. It is not what Conservatism is about," she says.

Rishi Sunak has promised to "boot out" anyone within the party found to have broken gambling laws.

However, she is also not convinced by the opposition.

"Labour sound like they want to give you the world but you know they can’t," she says.

"And that’s disappointing."

• Live: Follow the latest news about the UK general election

• Poll tracker: How do parties compare?

• Compare all the election manifestos and policies

• What photo ID will you need to vote?

• General election 2024: All BBC stories and analysis