Britain's oldest woman dies aged 111

London, Feb 14: Ada Mason, Britain's oldest woman, has died aged 111.

Mason, from Upton, West Yorkshire, died in her sleep last Friday.

Relatives said on Thursday that she put her long life down to eating bread and dripping with salt every day, as well as ''clean living''.

Janet Howse, 61, said her grandmother always had a positive outlook on life.

''She was wonderful,'' Howse, of South Kirkby, West Yorkshire, said.

''She had a hard life, but she was always really cheerful and never moaned like some women. She was always pleased to see people and ready for a chat.

''She was perfectly all right until a month ago singing hymns and chatting.'' Born in 1895, in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Mason remembered the sinking of the Titanic when she was 16 years-old as well as the funeral of Queen Victoria.

She left school when she was 13 and went into service before marrying miner John Mason in 1914. They lived together in Upton until 1962 when he died.

Mason lived on her own until she was 110, before going into a nursing home.

The centenarian, who outlived all her five children, will be buried at St Margaret's Church in North Elmsall later this week.

Six generations of the family are expected to attend, including her 12 grandchildren.

Reuters