Reflecting on a life well lived, I remember that my father was seriously injured by ‘friendly fire’ in the First World War. A machine gunner in the Berkshire Regiment, he was left for dead for 48 hours on the battlefield and found barely alive when the stretcher bearers went out to collect the dog tags. He passed away at the age of 44, after having delayed his ‘cocktail’ to make sure he was able to present me with a watch on my 14th Birthday. I was then disappointed that I had to stay on at school and not to be able to go to work to help my mum who had to survive on a war-widow’s pension.

Going to Petticoat Lane for my first ‘grown-up’ clothing, including long trousers – or slacks as my mum called them – we had to hide from the Blackshirts attacking the Jewish community. I then became an ARP (Air Raid Precautions) messenger and remember seeing Boy Cornwell’s Victoria Cross. I was awarded a bravery award for trying to rescue four people from a house after a bombing raid.

At the start of WWII I was making munitions, which was a protected profession. I tried to join the Merchant Navy, but kept getting turned down, and I was eventually accepted into the Royal Navy at Edgeware. I was sent square bashing in Torpoint and was then head hunted to be a submarine detector with a course in Scotland. I had to sign the Official Secrets Act to be taught to use a secret weapon, the ‘Hedgehog’; and we did underwater training in a big tank in Gosport – with a sadistic Petty Officer.

Leading up to D Day I served below decks, with most of the crew expecting the landings to be in Norway (in part because of what we saw ‘camouflaged’ off the Scottish islands) but, in June 1944, I was coxswain to a 16-foot motorboat, transporting the ship’s captain, and transported him and his wife to Helensburgh. Within half an hour of dropping him off, I had to pick him up and, after setting sail, we landed up in Sandown Bay the next day.

A year later, as VE Day came, I was involved in ensuring enemy U-Boats surrendered as part of the settlement, and was part of missions to ‘sink on sight’ those that wouldn’t surrender. We went up to the Arctic Circle, and were in contact with the Norwegian Resistance who had captured 19 Germans. They were all shot.

I met my late wife, Gladys, who was a dancer and also helped with the war effort, on Christmas Eve 1943. My memories are as clear today as they were in the 1940s.

She was absolutely divine and I fell for her hook, line and sinker. We were married for over 75 years, and shared many magical moments including meeting the WWII forces sweetheart, Vera Lynn.

More recently, I was invited to the D Day 80 commemoration in Normandy, meeting the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and the French President, Emmanuel Macron, as well as members of the Royal Family.

With my 100th birthday on St George’s Day, I am grateful to my family, friends, and the Royal British Legion for organising celebrations, and receiving kind words from the King is the icing on the cake.