A FORMER children’s officer born in the same year that King George V was crowned has died at the aged of 108.

Lois Crake was believed to have been the oldest resident ever at Milnthorpe care home Hartland House and she recently celebrated her birthday with her family.

Mrs Crake devoted her life to helping single mums, babies and adoptive families by becoming a children’s officer for Birkenhead, where she grew up.

The Sunday School teacher later worked voluntarily for the Lancashire and Cheshire Child Adoption Council, which she chaired.

Even at the age of 90, Mrs Crake was still helping families by tracking down missing records from Kendal maternity home St Monica’s.

Born in August 1911 in Birkenhead her family moved to Dorset where her father worked on early experiments with tanks.

Mrs Crake then attended Liverpool University reading Chemistry and Physics but realised it was not for her and left to volunteer to help with charities in Birkenhead.

She later went back to university to study Social Work.

In 1939 Mrs Crake travelled to Dundee to her first job.

Three years later she moved to Carlisle to run a shelter and home for single mothers. “This was sometimes hard and difficult work,” recalled Mrs Crake in her written memoir. “Many of my inhabitants had been widowed in the war.”

In 1946 she embarked on her “great Australian adventure” to be a nanny to her cousin’s three children and stayed there until 1948.

She married Richard Crake in 1955 and became step-mother to Tony and Timothy.

When her husband sadly died in 1982, Mrs Crake moved to Endmoor, where she became involved with Meals on Wheels.

Her next move, which she researched and organised, was to Abbeyfield ‘Gables’ in Kirkby Lonsdale, and then finally, as she realised she needed more support, to Hartland House.

Mrs Crake died on October 17 and the funeral was held at Beetham Hall Crematorium on Friday, November 8.