Shoreham centenarian is the third generation of his family to celebrate 100th birthday

West Sussex Deputy Lieutenant Caroline Nicholls visited Ken Turner, along with Adur District Council chairman Joe Panell, yesterday and they presented him with a birthday card from King Charles lll.

Ken variously puts his longevity down to good genes, as both his father and grandfather lived to be 100, as well as hard work and a clear conscience but also adds a daily drink of beer and an occasional nip of whisky.

Born in Glossop, Derbyshire, on October 18, 1923, he went on to work on the London and North-East Railway firing troop and goods trains throughout World War Two and was recently reunited with Flying Scotsman on its own centenary tour at The Bluebell Railway.

He moved to Shrewsbury in the 1950s with the family newsagents business, where he and his wife Julie brought up their children, Rosalind and Clive. In 2011, Ken and Julie moved to Shoreham to be near to their daughter and enjoyed making a new life in the centre of the town and being by the sea. Sadly, Julie died in 2021, after 72 years of marriage.

Rosalind said that remarkably, Ken had adapted into a new phase of life, living independently with her support.

She said: "He is very active and enjoys working on the allotment, reading, drawing and always taking a daily walk around town. He is often to be seen on the bench opposite the Shoreham Centre, keeping an eye on things.

"Although his short-term memory is not good, he enjoys life in the moment and has a fund of stories from a world long since disappeared, where horses were the main mode of transport and cars were a rarity, children were free to roam in between school and meals, and most left school at 14 to work in the local mills and factories."

Ken celebrated his birthday with a day-long party with family, friends and neighbours dropping in, along with his special visitors.