A PARTY and a card from the Queen helped Vera Fordham celebrate her 100th birthday.

The resident of The Coombs nursing home, Coleford, was surrounded by her family.

Vera – otherwise known as Vee – was born on January 14, 1916 in Heywood, Cinderford to Alfred and Elizabeth Harris and was the youngest of eight children. She attended Bilson School and East Dean Grammar School.

When she left school she worked at the Ministry of Labour and National Service in Cinderford leaving in May 1942 to join the ATS.

She was stationed in Ilfracombe during which time she met and married Maurice (Mo) Fordham.

After the war she went to live in Middlesex where she spent many happy years with her husband and their two daughters, Janice and Celia.

A few years after her husband’s death she moved back to the Forest and settled in Coalway to be near her family.

She remained independent in her bungalow until 2013 when health issues necessitated her move to The Coombs.