by Rebecca Hannant
Withernsea Lighthouse has been inundated with cards after putting calls out to celebrate former owner Kim Kendall’s birthday.
On March 31, Kim will turn 100. To celebrate her birthday, Lighthouse manager Lindsey Jones put a plea out for the community to send 100 birthday cards to the lighthouse which will then be sent out to Kim in America.
Kim, sister of Hollywood star Kay Kendall, was born at nearby Stanley House, in Hull Road, before leaving Withernsea to have a successful career in the film industry in the US.
Kay starred in numerous films and was married to Rex Harrison, but she later died of leukaemia in 1959, aged just 32.
Their mother Gladys also followed them out to the US, but wanted to live out her remaining years in Withernsea, so Kim organised for her to live at one of the town’s care homes.
Looking to return on regular occasions to see her mother, Kim bought the lighthouse and its associated cottages in the 1980s, using it as a place to stay when visiting.
Kim found there was considerable interest in the lighthouse as a tourist attraction, so a board of trustees was formed and the building was opened as a museum. A collection of Kay Kendall memorabilia was given pride of place, while people across Withernsea were invited to donate or loan items for the exhibitions.
Kim later handed the lighthouse and the cottages to the board of trustees, but she still likes to keep up to date with the building and its events and offers donations from time to time.
Following a campaign in the Gazette and on BBC Radio Humberside, the lighthouse has since received more than 130 cards from across the UK and these will now be delivered to Kim.
Lindsey said: “We’ve had lots of help from putting this out on Radio Humberside as we’ve been able to secure cards from further afield.
“We’ve had some from Hull, and even one from as far as Bournemouth. People have also added their own personal touches within their cards, containing photographs of their families. Someone even sent a photograph of their view from the allotments, with a view of the lighthouse in the background.
“A lot of people have thanked her, too, because she has done so much for the lighthouse and kept it going, so quite a few of the cards have been about that.
“It’s difficult to think of something to buy for somebody who is 100. But I don’t think anybody could have got her a better gift than that.”