Woodstock woman with Gavin and Stacey story turns 100

Gwenllian (Gwen) Bullock turned 100 on March 21 and celebrated it with a surprise party with family at The Bear Hotel in Woodstock.

Coming from humble beginnings having been born in Penarth, Cardiff, Mrs Bullock passed her 11 plus examination and went on to win a scholarship to the local grammar school where she was top of her year group.

When the Second World War hit, she decided not to pursue academic studies and wanted to help her family and local neighbourhood instead and worked in a small convenience store and volunteered as a Red Cross Nurse. 

Gwenllian (Gwen) Bullock turned 100 on March 21, 2026 (Image: Family handout)

The tale of how Mrs Bullock and her late husband Doug met is a strikingly similar love story to the Welsh sitcom characters Gavin and Stacey. 

Doug, originally from Essex, was stationed in Barry Island during WW2.

In his role as Regimental Sergeant Major, she first spotted him training the troops along the promenade.

A few weeks later, they had their very own meet in a coffee shop before marrying a year later.

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They stayed in Cardiff during the war, while Doug was preparing the men for battle.

They went on to have a daughter Sandra, then after the war moved to Essex and had a son Paul.

Mrs Bullock became homesick so they moved back to Cardiff, but in the 1950s they followed her family to live in Oxfordshire.

She ended up in Woodstock, her home for the past 29 years and a familiar face among residents.

Gwenllian (Gwen) Bullock turned 100 on March 21, 2026 (Image: Family handout)

Her family said: “She has a remarkable memory and often reflects to her grandchildren about the time Cardiff was heavily bombed.

“One particular recollection was the day she went home for lunch to her grandparent’s house in Cardiff to find the row of terraced houses flattened by a shower of bombs and their Welsh dresser miraculously still standing upright, porcelain jugs amazingly still intact.

“Gwen panicked, thinking her family had been killed. She raced to the Cardiff City Hall with the local priest to check the name list of the missing people.

“On route home, the train came to a sudden halt as the line had been bombed. They were evacuated off the train, where she befriended two other girls from a nearby carriage and they decided against staying in the station as they were eager to get home.

“Dodging further bombs being dropped ahead on the way back, Gwen safely arrived on her Parent’s street, neighbours on doorsteps on the lookout for her.

“Much to her relief, she found out that her grandparents had a narrow escape, travelling into the Welsh Valleys spontaneously that day to visit relations.

“This is just one of the amazing anecdotes that Gwen shares of her first-hand experience of WW2.”