Bideford D-Day veteran celebrates 100th birthday

One of the last surviving D-Day veterans has reached a remarkable milestone as he has turned 100-years-old at Kenwith Castle care home in Bideford.

John White celebrated his landmark birthday on February 11 and enjoyed a special afternoon tea with his family, ‘because as a Yorkshireman, he didn’t want any fuss’.

His bedroom was filled with 100th birthday cards, including his special card from King Charles and Queen Camilla, banners, balloons and his favourite chocolate treats.

The centenarian joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 18 and played a pivotal role in World War Two, serving in the D-Day landings and traversing France and Germany as a driver.

His wartime experiences also led to a chance encounter with his late wife, Betty, who was in the Women's Royal Air Force and they were married at the end of the war. 

En route to their honeymoon, John was even tasked with driving Hermann Göring’s staff car to an American airbase to be flown over to the United States.

Above shows John sat in Hermann Göring’s staff car which he drove to the US airbase. 

Moving to Barnstaple, John and Betty welcomed a child into their lives, his late daughter Lynne.

John then went to work for BT for 37 years before retiring in Barnstaple. 

Betty passed away in 2020, just a few weeks prior to the couple's 70th wedding anniversary. 

When asked what the secret was to living to reach 100, John said that “he only smoked for 3 months and then he gave up.”

Catherine, Activities Assistant at Kenwith Castle said: “John is a joy to look after at our care home. We were only too keen to make sure he felt like a VIP on his 100th birthday.”

As John celebrates his centenary, the world will also commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings later this year.

The Normandy landings, launched on June 6, 1944, as part of Operation Overlord, marked a turning point in World War II.