A GREAT-GRANDMOTHER who lived in the same village all her life has died at the age of 93.

Ethel May Bartlett, nee Hibberd, was born on November 18, 1912 and spent the next nine decades living in different homes around The Common in Broughton Gifford.

She will be remembered for being a true gander', as Broughton Gifford is nicknamed ganderland.

Mrs Bartlett died on October 8 after a battle with cancer.

She attended the village primary school and was a member of the congregation at the Broughton Gifford Methodist Chapel from the age of four.

During her working life she cleaned at houses around the village and beyond, often cycling to Trowbridge or into Melksham for work.

She was a founder member of the Mothers' Union and the Women's Institute, which started in the village in 1938.

Mrs Bartlett met her husband Reg in the village and they married in 1936.

Her sister Ada married Reg's brother Arthur.

Mr and Mrs Bartlett went on to have two children; David, who is now 68, and Maureen, who died last year at the age of 63. She had five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Mrs Bartlett enjoyed bowls and skittles, playing well into her 90s. She also enjoyed games of whist, bingo and beetle drives.

Her daughter-in-law Vivien Bartlett, of Wiltshire Crescent, Melksham, said: "She was definitely a character. She made untold cups of teas for events and made loads of friends, friendships that lasted a lifetime."

The funeral will be at the Broughton Gifford Methodist Chapel on Monday at 2pm. There will be a wake afterwards at the Sunday schoolroom.