AN APPEAL has been launched to lift the spirits of a “proud Cumbrian” on her 100th birthday.

Mary Taylor will become a centenarian on April 14 and as the St Bees native will still be shielding by then due to the risks of Covid-19, her family has launched an appeal for birthday cards to make her smile through lockdown.

Ryan Pearse, husband to Mary’s granddaughter Victoria has co-ordinated the appeal. He said that although Mary now lives in Hertfordshire: “she is a proud Cumbrian who speaks with such love and affection of her home village of St Bees.

“Whenever we’ve been up there she takes great pride in recounting all of her memories, times and tales from her days in her native Cumberland as she still calls it.”

After attending St Bees Village School, Mary Irving went on to become an assistant to the local reverend and later served her country in the Women’s Auxilliary Airforce.

Eventually moving to Hertfordshire, she took up a role with the Hertfordshire county council which she served “diligently” in for years. It is also where she would find future husband Walter Taylor. Mary’s stories of her adventures are treasured by her family.

“Mary is the most amazing lady, up until age 98 she was walking miles, touring National Trust properties, charity fundraising, marching her loaded grocery basket up the hill from the market and even performing in a ukulele group.”

She is an avid traveller had to cancel her most recent planned excursion to the Isle of Man due to the pandemic.

Ryan said: “Progressive frailty has meant that visiting is no longer possible and therefore we wanted to reach out and try and bring Cumbria, her friends and memories of her past to her.”

She is stepmother to Robert, grandmother to Victoria and Rebecca, great grandma to Sophia and Declan as well as aunt and great aunt to her nephews, great nieces and nephews and their families in Cumbria.

And the whole family hope that Cumbria will rally to make her 100th birthday special. To find out more about the appeal, visit: tiny.cc/GrandmaMary