MINEHEAD resident Edyth Harvey was surrounded by her family last week when she celebrated her 100th birthday, 14 years after her husband reached the magic treble figure.

Daughter Rosemary, two grandsons, a granddaughter and eight grandsons travelled from their home in France to join Edyth for her special day on Wednesday at Broadlands Residential Home.

He other daughter, Edyth, who lives in Minehead, and her son and daughter-in-law were also at the party thrown by the staff at Broadlands.

Edyth was born in Shropshire in 1901 and, at 15 months old, she and her three sisters moved to North Wales where her mother trained as a midwife.

She studied at Exeter University College to become a teacher and her first job was at a village school tucked away in the Welsh mountains, which meant a four-mile walk to work across waste tips and, often, deep snow.

She loved it so much that, after a year, she turned down a teaching post in a town school.

Her husband, Charles, worked for his family drapery business, and they later retired to near Tewkesbury before moving to Minehead in 1958.

They found their new home by chance after dropping Rosemary off at Bristol airport.

"Rosemary was off to work in Geneva so after we waved goodbye I persuaded Charles that we can't go home yet so we decided to go down to Somerset," Edyth said.

"We stayed at the Wellington Hotel and went out to see a house for sale. It had little stream next to it and a bridge and it just seemed obvious that we should buy it."

Edyth and Charles were always keen gardeners, and Edyth landscaped their garden in Lower Park, Minehead.

Weaving has always been a love of hers and she still has dresses in her room at the Ponsford Road home which she made over 60 years ago.

Edyth is extremely alert for her age and finds the energy to fill in crosswords at two in the morning because, she said, that' is when her brain works best.

And she has been overwhelmed with the cards she has received from friends and family, so much so that it took her a few days to get round to counting them all.

She has only been a Broadlands resident for the past six months but she did not want to live anywhere else after she stayed for a week-long trial period: "I enjoyed it here from the very start and I couldn't be happier."

Edyth is pictured holding the front page of a 1986 edition of the Free Press and its report of Charles' 100th birthday.

Photo: Steve Guscott.