The Liberal Party was in power and Rolls-Royce Ltd had just been founded, when Scotland's oldest person Irene (Rene) Chapman was born.

Irene (Rene) Chapman elebrated her 109th birthday in the Highlands and pointed to good food, strong faith, a loving family and a good sense of humour, as being the secrets of her longevity.

She only topped Scotland league of seniority in March on the death of Miss Jessie Gallan, of Aberdeen, who celebrated her 109th birthday two months earlier.

Friends, family and staff gathered for a birthday tea party in the Telford Centre in Fort Augustus, the NHS Highland care home where Rene is a resident.

Born on Saturday June 9 1906, Rene is from Twickenham in London, where she helped in her father's corn and seed merchants business.

She never married and spent much of her life as a carer, looking after her aunt and parents. A keen organist and chorister, she worked for a while, initially as a volunteer, in a convalescent home in Crowhurst, East Sussex, and moved to Scotland to live with friends near Spean Bridge. She moved into the Telford Centre in 2012.

Asked if she liked Scotland, Rene smiled and said: "I would like it better if it was warmer."

"It's a privilege to have Rene with us," said the centre's manager, Caroline Gunn. "She's a very special lady and we're all delighted to be able to help her celebrate this remarkable milestone."

Elaine Mead, NHS Highland's chief executive, added: "Rene's milestone is all the more remarkable when you realise that at the time she was born no airplane had ever flown in Europe, San Francisco lay in ruins after a devastating earthquake and a census had concluded that Britain ruled one-fifth of the world. She's lived through a great deal and we are honoured to have her in our care. We send her our very best wishes."

Rene was visited on her birthday by her nephew Clive Chapman and his wife Lesley, who travelled from Dorset for the occasion.

According to the website Oldest People in Britain, the second oldest woman in Scotland is Dorothy Mary Perkins, of Dumfries, who is 108, and the oldest man is 107-year-old Alf Smith, of Perth. The oldest person in Britain is Gladys Hooper, of the Isle of Wight, who is 112."