SINGERS and a brass band entertained Betty Cory who celebrated her 100th birthday with family, friends and staff at an Isle of Wight residential home.

Betty, who was born in Tufnell Park, Islington, on June 23, 1924, became a centenarian — honoured by King Charles and Queen Camilla with a special birthday.

A resident of Kynance Residential Home, East Cowes, Betty celebrated her birthday, with her family, at her favourite restaurant, The Duck, Ryde, then at Kynance, where they laid on some great entertainment in the form of singers and a brass band.

Betty was the youngest of three children, the two siblings being brothers. After leaving school at 14, Betty worked in a library in Chingford, London.

During the Second World War, her family lived through the Blitz.

Betty, who spoke vividly about what happened during the war, recalled the night the Luftwaffe bombed the docks and taking the last bus home during the Blackout.

She also remembers a German mine put "a nasty crack" in the side of their house, in Walthamstow, in 1941, so her father moved the family to Hertfordshire.

For the remainder of the war, Betty worked at the De Havilland aircraft factory — involved in the production of the iconic Mosquito light bombers.

It was here she met her future husband, Ron, who was serving in the RAF.

During the war, they would go to Cambridge and, especially, in The Eagle pub, where she saw RAF and American airmen using wax candles, petrol lighters and lipstick to write their names, squadron numbers and other doodles, onto the ceiling of the rear bar, hoping they would never be forgotten.

If you visit the pub today, you can still see it.

They tied the knot in 1947 and, eventually, the family, which now included their son, Chris, moved to Welwyn Garden City.

Ron died in 1979, but she continued to live in Hertfordshire with her son, his wife Sue and their two sons, until the family decided on a change of air and moved to the Isle of Wight in 2014.

Betty, at Kynance, has made lots of new friends. She loves the entertainment they arrange for the residents.

"There's nothing like a good sing-song," said Betty.

Betty still enjoys her weekly outings with Chris and Sue, which usually involve a visit to the seaside and an ice cream.