A 100-YEAR-OLD Bristolian marked her centennial year at Banwell Castle late last month, with 43 of her children and grandchildren.

Ruby May Cockle, now a great-great-grandmother, celebrated her 100th birthday on August 26, when scores of her friends and family partied the night away and toasted 'many more happy years'.

The 100-year-old has five children, 11 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and recently a baby great-great-grandson, who was born in July. 

Ruby was born in Bristol in 1922 and was just age 17 when the Second World War broke out. During that time, she worked as a seamstress to create parachutes for the allied troops.

In the last few months of the devastating German Blitz bombing raids in 1941, Ruby met her beloved Frank, who worked as a mechanic for aircraft. 

The couple then moved to Heathrow, London, and both joined the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) - a precursor to modern British Airways.

When Frank retired, they moved back to Weston and enjoyed 60 years of 'glorious marriage'.

On her longevity, Ruby jokingly said it was all down to 'not partying in older age'.