Sheila White celebrates 102nd birthday with tea and cakes

Sheila White celebrated her birthday at Abingdon Court Care Home, which was specially decked with balloons and banners.

Dementia sufferer Miss White, who never married or had children, was joined by her two nieces – Barbara Stewart who flew over from Canada, and Carol Powell who lives in Southmoor – and care home staff.

Mother-of-one Mrs Powell, whose husband Roger joined the party, said: "She was always very loving. Everybody who knew her would always refer to her as Auntie Sheila. She loves children and animals.

"She often likens herself to the Queen – she's a real royalist. She has her bad days but she's allowed to at 102. The days she's good she can be quite a character.

"She's very posh. She tells us about going riding with the Queen, but I'm not sure if that's true."

Miss White demonstrated an impressive appetite at her party, polishing off a plate of miniature cakes and chocolate biscuits at the home in Marcham Road.

Though she struggles with short-term memory loss she can still remember snippets of her impressive career as a nurse.

She worked for years as a matron at Bethnal Green Hospital in London and had an exotic stint nursing soldiers in Egypt during her service in the Second World War.

She grew up in Farnham in Surrey with her brother Bryan, who has since passed away.