SOCIABLE great-grandmother Jessie Taylor celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by friends and family in Wroughton on Saturday.

Mrs Taylor has lived in the village since 1955 when she and her late husband Ron came to work at the RAF hospital at Wroughton, She now lives in the Harry Garrett Court sheltered housing scheme in Willow Walk.

On Saturday, four generations of her family, as well as friends, gathered at the home to celebrate her century.

She also received cards from the Queen and Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary Of State for work and pensions, and used the internet phone service, Skype, to speak to her 93-year-old youngest sister, Dorothy, who lives in Bolton, Lancashire.

“I feel 21. I’m looking forward to 22, I’m 21 now,” she joked, From all the memories of her 100 years, Mrs Taylor said she looked fondly on the time she spent travelling to Singapore and other places with her late husband and said she still enjoyed being active and involved.

She said: “I can only think that I have enjoyed my life and made good friends and I still have good friends. And I join in with as many things as I can. I can only say that I enjoyed it and I still enjoy life, doing things.”

Mrs Taylor (née Law) was born in Bolton on January 1, 1913, the third of five children. During the Second World War, she served in the WRAF where she met her husband Ron who was an RAF warrant officer.

Between 1952 and 1955, they were stationed in Singapore where they worked in hospitals. Afterwards they worked at the RAF hospital in Wroughton,Ron worked in the pathology laboratory and she was a secretary to one of the doctors. Ron died in 1984.

Mrs Taylor is well known in the village and was involved in the Wroughton WI, a local floral art group, and also enjoyed oil painting.

Her birthday was marked by the family, including her daughter, Barbara, two grandchildren, Mark and Fiona, and four great-granddaughters, Hannah, 12, Emily eight, Zoe, nine, and Erin, six.

Barbara said: “It’s an achievement Everyone seems to say she’s such a nice lady. She has always been sociable and she’s trying to remain independent.”