100-year-old veteran reflects on peace, purpose, and a spitfire soar

Eighty years on, the spritely 100-year-old - who now teaches yoga

Last updated: May 01, 2025 | 13:20

Compiled by Devadasan K P, Chief Visual Editor

2 MIN READ

Dorothea Barron, 100, during a yoga class at the village hall near her home on March 31, 2025. The centenarian fondly recalls when she learned World War II had ended in Europe on May 8, 1945. "Thank goodness that's over," she remembers thinking as relief swept over her.

AFP

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Dorothea Barron, a centenarian, stretches while teaching a yoga class at the village hall near her home on March 31, 2025. A wartime Wren turned yoga instructor—Barron leads classes at 100 with perfect form and humor.

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Barron keeps her students smiling and stretching every Monday.

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To celebrate her 100th birthday, Barron took to the skies in a legendary Spitfire.

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Dorothea Barron (C), a centenarian, enjoys a cup of tea and slice of cake with one of her students after teaching a yoga class at the village hall near her home on March 31, 2025.

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Cheating the height requirement: Barron snuck into the Navy with cardboard heels and puffed-up hair.

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Nobody wins a war’: the centenarian reflects on today’s conflicts with a voice shaped by history.

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Barron now prepares to mark the 80th anniversary in Westminster Abbey.

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Eight decades on, Dorothea Barron carries the memory of service, sacrifice, and survival into a new century.

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Dorothea Barron, stretches while teaching a yoga class at the village hall near her home on March 31, 2025.

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