JOYCE Rolfe from Highworth celebrated getting her centenary birthday card from the Queen on Sunday.

Joyce had a motorbike crash while riding with her husband in 1941 and had her leg amputated, meaning she lived most of her life with a prosthetic limb.

Son Robert Rolfe, 75, told the Adver: “She’s been a very forceful character all her life. She was very involved with the village and community in Highworth.

“She’s made of strong stuff, she used to ride a bike, her disability didn’t stop her doing anything.

“She had it all her life, she’s had artificial limbs, and not like they are nowadays, but she hasn’t let it stand in her way."

Friends and relatives came from across to UK to visit Joyce at the Park View Nursing Home in Blunsdon, where she has lived for the last four years, including two grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

“She’s been a real family person all her life, she really loved all her grandchildren and great grandchildren," added Robert.

"Her house was their second home, they would just call in.”

“Until four years ago she was looking after herself, she was born in Ramsbury to a farming family and had a hard-working life, bringing me up and looking after her father and then my father for another seven years.

“She thoroughly enjoyed her day, she partook with it all. They gave he a glass of champagne and she swigged it and said cheers. And she’s not drunk for 60 or 70 years.

“She’s a matriarch of the family and we’re all proud of her. She is brilliant, she really took today in her stride and really enjoyed it.”

Friends a family paid tribute to Joyce after the excitement of the day.

Eileen Rolfe, Joyce’s daughter-in-law, added: “She's treated me like a daughter and is one selfless lady. She always thinks of others before herself and you always had to be fed and watered when you went round.

Doreen Cauling, from Cirencester, but had known Joyce for 72 years since she used to look after her as a child, said: “I’m just so proud to have known this beautiful lady. She is the nicest person you would ever know, she’s just the most marvellous, amazing lady.”