One of the country's oldest residents - living at a Guiseley nursing home - celebrated her 108th birthday today.

The outbreak of The Boer War was still seven years off when Florence Rawlings was born in 1892.

The centenarian remembers Queen Victoria travelling through her village in a horse-drawn carriage, and she married in the year the Titanic sank.

She came of age the year before World War I started and reached the grand old age of 91 before upping sticks and moving more than 200 miles to a new life in Yorkshire.

Today, she was visiting her son's house in Baildon for a birthday dinner. And family and friends were set to toast her longevity during a special party at Ghyll Royd Nursing Home, where she has lived for the last three years.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, she ranks in age alongside the world's oldest living man, Harry Halford, of Leicester. A spokesman said the world's oldest living person is 114-year-old Eva Morris, of Staffordshire, but non-authenticated claims of a Dominican woman, said to be 125, are currently being investigated.

Ghyll Royd activities co-ordinator Phil Pears said: "Apart from being deaf she's still in charge of all her faculties. She gets herself up in the morning and walks around the place, which is amazing because there are lots of people much younger than her who can't do any of that.

"She's very proud of all the telegrams she's had from the Queen, which are up on her wall.

"Florrie's very proud of her appearance, still gets her hair done every fortnight and seems so fit for her age. She still enjoys reading and the entertainers we have in, and never misses watching the Remembrance Day parade.''

Born in Middlesex, Mrs Rawlings (nee Tilbury) grew up in Datchet, near Windsor, and after leaving school worked in service for a short time before marrying Albert Rawlings in 1912. At 91 she moved to Yorkshire with her son Norman, now 74, and daughter-in-law Betty, with whom she lived in Baildon until 1997.

She had seven children and also has 16 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

Norman Rawlings said: "It's a remarkable age and beggars belief really because she hasn't had an easy life and had to bring up seven children without any of the modern appliances everyone takes for granted.''

He said the family put her longevity down to clean living. Apart from an occasional glass of wine she is almost teetotal and takes care of her health.

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