PEOPLE who met the Queen Mother spoke today of their sorrow at her death and relived the joy of meeting such a special royal.

For former Rossendale mayoress Joyce Valentine, her memories are as vivid as if they happened yesterday -- even though their brief encounter occurred in 1945.

Joyce, then Joyce Haworth, was 13 years old when she was picked to present the Queen Mother, then the Queen, with a bunch of flowers.

She joined a line of dignitaries and met the Queen Mother, and King George VI, as they toured Haslingden towards the end of the Second World War.

Joyce said: "She looked beautiful in her blue dress and a feathered hat.

"I had to curtsey before and after my little speech when I gave her the flowers.

"She graciously accepted them with a beautiful smile. It was a wonderful day, just over too soon."

Roy Thompson, 55, also met the Queen Mother when he was aged 13.

As a resident of a British Legion Children's Home in Surrey, he was asked to hand over a bouquet.

He had lived in Great Harwood and now lives in Church.

He said: "It was the highlight of my life and was a very proud moment for me."

She may have only passed through fleetingly, but the Queen Mother was able to remember the town of Oswaldtwistle at an instant when she met East Lancashire residents at a Buckingham Palace garden party.

It was the early 1990s and Peter Britcliffe, now the leader of Hyndburn Council, was at one of the famed parties with his now late mother, Ethel.

The Queen Mother had passed through Oswaldtwistle in 1948 on her way from Blackburn to Haslingden, where she was touring as the Queen of the United Kingdom.

Coun Britcliffe remembered: "The Queen Mother came down the line and asked use where we came from.

"We told her we were from Oswaldtwistle and she said she had been there and that it was a lovely place.

"We checked aftwerwards and we found that she had been through here.

"The fact she remembered is marvellous. It was quite incredible because she was in her 90s.

"It just shows how special she was and how sad her death is."

Leslie Ashton, 86, former parks and cemeteries superintendent at Haslingden, who now lives in Oakworth near Keighley, met the Queen mother when he planted a tree at Clarence House to celebrate her 80th birthday.

He said: "Obviously her death was expected and a must be a relief. When I visited Clarence House there was a big photograph of Prince Charles on the grand piano.

"I think he was her favourite grandchild."

Ada Gibson has never met the Queen Mother -- but she feels close to her none-the-less.

Every August 4, the sprightly 86-year-old places a 'Happy Birthday' advert in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph for the Queen Mum. She said: "She is such an inspiration, her death is so sad. I place the advert because I have so much respect for her.

"She is a wonderful lady and what she did for us during the war is typical of her.

"She will be remembered forever."

Radio presenter Jim Bowen, who used to live in Accrington, Padiham and Nelson, rang Clarence House every year to wish her a happy birthday because he had been told she was a fan of his TV show, Bullseye.

He said: "The children used to watch it and I had been told she did so I used to ring up every year.

"Every year I would get through to her lady in waiting who would pass on my message.

"One year, the lady in waiting told me the Queen Mother was there and would I like to speak to her.

"I froze and said 'no thanks, I can't speak to the Queen Mother!'

"The people with me at the time said I froze with fear."