A GREAT grandmother from York has celebrated her 107th birthday with her two sons and many of the staff at a York care home.

Retired Royal Airforce cook Gwen McDermott has lived at Time Tree House in Poppleton since 2000. She moved to York with her husband, Michael, also an RAF veteran and spent a year living in Haxby before Michael died.

Mother of Robin, 73 and Richard, 71, she was born in Shropshire and after years of moving around Britain and abroad with her husband and two sons, she chose to settle in North Yorkshire to be close to her eldest son and grandchildren.

During the Second World War, Mrs McDermott's future husband was serving in the Far East and having not heard from him for over a year, she feared for his safety when, out of the blue, she received a letter saying he was safe and well had arrived by ship in Liverpool.

They were reunited and married in 1944. Both their sons followed their parents and joined the military. Robin joined the army and, after retirement, settled in Dringhouses. Richard was in the navy and lives in Plymouth. Mrs McDermott now has three grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Her birthday was made special by the staff at Lime Tree House with a cake and a surprise visit from the Lord Mayor of York, Cllr Keith Orrell and his wife.