LILIAN Sylvester spent many years caring for her parents and supporting charities but last week she was the centre of attention as she celebrated her 100th birthday.

Members of her family and former neighbours from Gloucester joined staff at the Chaxhill Hall care home to mark the milestone birthday on Tuesday, January 24.

Miss Sylvester said: “I had three wishes for today: some chocolate, some biscuits and some flowers and I got all three.”

She was born in Ruspidge where she lived with her older sister Phyllis and her parents.

Her father George was a sailor who served as a stoker on HMS Miranda but he suffered ill health and the family eventually moved to Kent where she lived for many years.

Before moving to Kent, her father had to spend some time convalescing in Worthing, Sussex which hit 10-year-old Lillian very hard.

“I was pining, I couldn’t eat and I couldn’t sleep.”

The family later moved to Kent where she spent a decade looking after both parents.

She said it didn’t bother her getting married because ‘‘I had my parents to look after.”

Miss Sylvester was a keen knitter and enjoyed gardening – she was still planting seeds at her bungalow in Longford, which was named after her father’s ship, at the age of 93.

She moved to Chaxhill two years ago and enjoys reading and doing word searches.

She said: “I’m very lucky – I can see. I like reading but my writing isn’t very good. The As the Es and Fs go funny!”