CENTENARIAN Edith Niblett died on August 2, just weeks after her 106th birthday.

One of Bournemouth's oldest residents, Mrs Niblett was born Edith Wink in Norfolk on June 8, 1909, eight years after the death of Queen Victoria. Her father was a fisherman. Her brother, Ted, was several years older and they remained in touch throughout his life.

During the Second World War she worked with her first husband in an electrical components supply firm, and after moving to Bournemouth she worked in a newsagents in Broadway.

It was there that she met her second husband, Harold, a regular customer whom she had got to know over the years.

They married in a quiet ceremony at a Bournemouth registry office in August 1972.

Mr Niblett had been wounded in the days after the D-Day invasion, and being partially disabled he and his wife were able to gain accommodation at the War Memorial Homes in Castle Lane West.

The pair helped at flag days for animal charities, and were involved with the international charity Toc H, which helps people in the community.

During the winter they would spend several weeks in Spain and Portugal, getting to know the locals, while in the summer they took bicycle rides in the countryside.

She enjoyed singing, and she and Harold spent much time growing vegetables in their garden.

Sadly Harold died a fortnight before their silver wedding anniversary. Mrs Niblett chose not to have children during either marriage.

She attended the Bournemouth Society for the Visually Impaired, where she learned to paint, a hobby she maintained until her failing eyesight made it impossible.

She kept as active as possible up until her death, only using her late husband's chairlift to move the laundry. In her later years she had a live-in helper whose company she greatly appreciated.

Mrs Niblett was a very private person, particularly as she got older. Although small of frame, she was robust and independent-minded.

In part, she credited her long life to taking a spoonful of olive oil every day, which she had originally been advised by a doctor when experiencing gall bladder problems in her teens.