ONE of Tesco’s earliest living employees has celebrated her 100th birthday, in the same year as the supermarket chain is marking its own centenary.

Ethel Price, who lives in Callington, was surrounded by friends and family for her special birthday, and local Tesco staff took her some celebratory gifts as part of the festivities.

She began her working life with Tesco when its founder, Sir Jack Cohen, opened a stall in the newly created Wembley Market in 1934.

Sir Cohen had started Tesco in 1919 the year Ethel was born, with a series of market stalls around London following in the next decade.

Brian, Ethel’s son, said: “She had to travel there each day from Sudbury. Later on, her dad knew about Jack opening one of his new corner stores near where mum lived, so he contacted Jack and asked if mum could have a job. He said to tell her to go and see him.

“They got on really well and he asked her to start the next day. She said Jack was a really nice man. He was kind to her and helped her a lot. She enjoyed working for him, and she’s shopped at Tesco ever since.

“It’s incredible to think what’s happened to Tesco since those early days. Mum’s proud to have been involved at the very start. Not many people can say they did that.”

Sir Cohen came up with the name of Tesco by taking the initials of a tea supplier — TE Stockwell — and combining it with the first two letters of his surname.

In recent decades the supermarket chain has given great importance to supporting local communities, which is why Tesco staff requested to be at Ethel’s birthday celebrations. They presented Ethel with a £100 gift card, a bunch of flowers, a birthday card, and a birthday cake for her and her family to share.

Brian said: “Mum was completely taken by surprise when she received the gifts from the Tesco staff. They all spent a long time talking and she was sharing her Tesco stories, which they found fascinating. She also received her card from the Queen, and she ended a lovely day by having a meal with close family. It really was a day we’ll all remember.”

Ben Gould, lead manager at the Callington Tesco store, was among those who attended Ethel’s big day, along with petrol station manager Tammy Jenkin.

Ben said: “It was an honour to be there for Ethel’s birthday. She’s amazing for her age and very inspiring. She had so many interesting stories to tell us from her early days with Jack Cohen.”

Ethel was married to Len, who died in 1979, and moved to Callington in 2001. She has two children, four grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.