A CARE home resident in York has celebrated her 100th birthday - and says she has always been "disgustingly healthy".

Barbara Knowles enjoyed a celebration with cake and Champagne at the Connaught Court care home in the city.

Staff were determined she would have a memorable birthday, so they put together a small gathering.

Barbara was born on February 17, 1921, in Hemsworth, near Pontefract, where she lived with her parents and sister. Her childhood was a "happy one filled with adventures".

She attended the local grammar school where she met her first husband Don, a navigator in the RAF, and they married in 1942 and had one daughter, Kay. Sadly, Don was reported missing during the Second World War.

Later, Barbara met Ernest and enjoyed many years of companionship. She became a member of York Yacht Club, and remembers many happy journeys sailing through Lincoln, down to Cambridge.

After moving to Bishopthorpe, Ernest sadly died.

Barbara worked at a university, only to retire and begin new travels. She kept active in the community, supporting the British Legion, The National Trust, the English Speaking Union, and other charities.

Barbara has two grandsons and four great grandchildren. After Ernest's death she met Michael Knowles at a dinner party and they married in 1994. They travelled frequently, enjoying trips around the world.

Sharing her secret to a long life, Barbara said: “I’ve kept active, kept my brain going and enjoyed a great life. I always said I was disgustingly healthy.”

Barbara was one of the first residents to receive the Covid-19 vaccination at Connaught Court. She said: “It’s a good thing, we all need it. I can’t wait to get together with my family and perhaps have a run out to the Dales, or look around York.”