A SWINDON woman who liked nothing more than jumping on the back of her husband's motorbike is 100 years old.

Joyce Pilot received a telegram from the Queen to mark her birthday yesterday, which she celebrated with her daughter Sylvia and grandson Ian, who live with her in Goddard Avenue.

The family had a small party for her even though she was feeling a bit poorly.

Mrs Pilot has spent all but 12 years of her life in Swindon.

She was born Joyce Burford in Dryden Street and grew up in Clifton Street, attending Clifton Street then Euclid Street schools.

She had two sisters, Barbara, who died as a young child and Irene, who died in 1987 aged 78.

She met her husband Robert, an apprentice at the railway works, at a dance at Bradford Hall in Old Town.

The couple enjoyed going on trips on Mr Pilot's motorbike, playing tennis and ice skating.

But in 1926 he was made redundant and moved to Belgium where he had got a job for an engineering consultancy.

After two years he returned to marry Joyce at the Methodist Church on Clifton Street on April 19, 1928, before they went back to Belgium together to live in Liege, then later Brussels.

"They lived there for 12 years," said Sylvia, 67.

"They both became fluent in French and Belgian.

"Mum made a lot of friends out there.

"She went back later to visit them and they came to visit here.

"Mum has outlived them all and many of her friends here. But she has had lots and lots of cards today and a telegram from the Queen."

Mrs Pilot came back to England to give birth to her son David but he spent his early years in Belgium before returning to live with his grandmother to go to school in England.

Sylvia was born in Belgium but the family returned to live in Swindon when the war started when she was two.

Mrs Pilot, who had worked as a dark room technician in a chemist in Wood Street as a young woman, did not work after she was married.

But she stayed interested in photography and has accumulated a huge collection of photos.

David died from cancer in 1984, aged 54, but his son Ian, 46, lives with his grandmother and aunt.

Mr Pilot died in 1986, aged 91, and Sylvia later moved in with her mother.

Relatives from Wales visited the day before Mrs Pilot's birthday and Sylvia held a small party for her mum yesterday evening.

Isabel Field