THE "Duchess of Gargrave" enjoyed her 95th birthday this week after a lifetime spent in her beloved home village.

Barbara Gill, who has only ever spent 15 months away from Gargrave when between homes, celebrated her milestone on Monday.

The Neville House resident was born in Bridge House and remembers a time when the idyllic village ended at East Street and was home to less than half its current population.

And although she is the only remaining member of her family in the area, Mrs Gill has made many friends in Gargrave over the years and is something of a local celebrity - earning her the title of "Duchess" from staff at the care home.

Mrs Gill was born in 1912 and her father, Luke Gill, was one of two butchers in the village, while her uncle, Walter Gill, built up a garage business from a barn repairing bicycles.

After enjoying a comparatively comfortable standard of living as a young girl, her life became a difficult one.

Her father died of a heart attack at a young age and her brother was killed in the First World War, leaving just a small pension for the family to live on.

They were taken in by friends of the family and Mrs Gill had to leave Church School and work from the age of 14 to support herself and their mother.

She found employment at Wilkinsons in New Brighton together with her two sisters and she remembers the daily journey to work on foot was something of a trek.

She said: "It was a bit of a walk but you just had to accept those things.

"That was another world - life was incredibly different then."

Mrs Gill stayed at Wilkinsons until she was 18, when she left to work at Johnson and Johnson, where she stayed for 37 years until 1972, making products including cotton wool and medical dressings.

She remembers her first wage at the company was 27s 6d but thinks, overall, she got a good deal out of her employment.

She said: "I've been retired nearly 37 years but I'm still drawing my pension so I've certainly got my money's worth!"

Despite the hardships of her early years, Mrs Gill retains a very positive outlook on life and still has a lot of affection for Gargrave. Mrs Gill, said: "I still love this village and I still think it's a lovely, very pretty place to live."

The Herald was alerted to Mrs Gill's birthday by her long-standing friend Sandra Crawford, who first met the 95-year-old in circumstances which both ladies agree would be frowned upon in more modern times.

Mrs Crawford said: "Barbara knocked on my door one day and asked to take my baby for a walk as she was sitting in the pram - it was a very small village in those days! I doubt anyone would even dream of doing that now!"