100 year old Violet Robertson. Forced to leave St Raphael's Care Home, St Albans.

WHEN blind and deaf 100-year-old Violet Robertson moved from WGC to specialist care home St Raphael’s, her family thought she had found a warm and caring place for her to happily live out the rest of her days.

But last Thursday the former office manager suffered the trauma of leaving her much-loved home after the blind charity which runs it decided to close the facility and put the Victorian mansion in St Albans on the market.

One of Mrs Robertson’s sons, Craig, 75, said she had settled into St Raphael’s extremely well, becoming quite content under the “exceptional” specialist care from the dedicated staff at the home run by St John’s Guild.

He said: “We’re very disappointed, she was so happy there.

“I’ve looked at other homes and there are none that have the sort of heart and soul that St Raphael’s had.

“Not that the others weren’t nice, but it really is the soul that matters and that’s what the home was about.”

Fortunately, her family managed to secure her a place at nearby Clare Lodge – but it’s a task they never wanted or thought they would ever need to do having only managed to convince her in March to leave WGC.

Mrs Robertson had lived in Great Ley with her husband James, who died in 1973.

She later moved to sheltered accommodation at Woodside House in Bridge Road.

Mrs Robertson, a grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of 14, is one of 24 frail and vulnerable residents, many of whom are over 90, given the bombshell news in July that the long-standing and well-loved home was to close.

Known as “Robbie”, she started work at the Shredded Wheat Company when she left school aged 14 and stayed there until her marriage to James six years later in 1930.