THE Mayor of Camelford, Cllr Brian Lush, joined the party on Tuesday, when one of Camelford's oldest residents celebrates her 100th birthday, surrounded by family and friends.

Frances Mary Ellen Williams (nee Collings) of Anvil Court, Camelford, was born in Launceston on Wednesday, June 2, 1909. The daughter of a tailor, her first paid employment was with Trood's Coal Supplies of Launceston. Her hopes of becoming a nurse were dashed when her mother died and she was required to stay at home to look after her father.

Frances met her future husband, Bob, in 1935 and they were married a year later at St Mary's Church, Launceston. That same year, Bob started work in Camelford wiring up the town for the introduction of electricity.

"In those days, homes were lit with oil lamps and acetylene gas," said Frances. "We moved to Camelford and I thought it was a dreary place and hoped we wouldn't stay long. But we came to love it – and here I am 73 years later.

"Back in the 30s, Camelford was a small town with less than half the houses it has now; just dismal streets, oil lamps, and hardly any shops."

Frances and Bob moved into a flat in Camelford High Street and, when war broke out, Bob was called up for the African war with the Royal Engineers. Their only son, Roger, was born in 1943 and Frances not only cared for him but also a number of evacuees over the next few years.

After the war, she and Bob moved into a house in Dark Lane, Camelford, less than half a mile from their High Street flat.

ONE OF FIRST

 RESIDENTS

Her grandson Scott, now married with a teenage daughter of his own, said: "I remember that house from when I was small. I remember Christmas dinners with Grandma; Sunday tea with cakes and clotted cream; the bird house, shopping in the town and trips in various gleaming cars to picnic in the Cornish countryside."

Their final move took them to Roughtor Drive, Camelford, where they spent many happy years.

When Bob passed away some 15 years' ago, Frances moved into sheltered accommodation in Anvil Court.

"She was one of their first residents," said Scott. "She used to regale us with talks of their trips and coach outings.

"The supported housing officer of Anvil Court, Kay Colwell, tells me that Grandma is their first resident to reach the age of one hundred. That just shows she has been well looked after since she moved in. The staff just couldn't be kinder."

Frances only ever had one paid job in her life and, other than a 17-mile move from Launceston to Camelford when she was first married, she has spent all her remaining years living within one square mile of the town. Born, bred and reared in Cornwall, she is Cornish through and through.