A FORMER Royal Air Force mechanic from Newport celebrated his 100th birthday with a special performance at his care home.
Ken Beattie was born on August 8, 1920 to James and Olive Beattie.
Now living in Cwmbran, Mr Beattie celebrated his landmark day - one day early - on Friday with his daughter, Ann Whiffen, and staff and other residents at Ty George Lansbury Extra Care Scheme in Cwmbran - where a singer came to perform for the occasion.
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"It's nice that people have come out to see me," he said.
Mr Beattie signed up for the Royal Air Force in for the Second World War, at the age of 18.
"It was February 15, 1939," he said. "It was very good, I had some very good mates.
"I'd always been technically minded.
"I was in the Air Force for about eight years."
Ken Beattie celebrating his 100th birthday at Ty George Lansbury Extra Care Scheme. Picture:Ty George Lansbury Extra Care Scheme
During the war, Mr Beattie was a part of the Salerno Landings - the Allied invasion of Italy.
The Air Force was where Mr Beattie met his future wife, Mabel.
"She was in the WRAF (The Women's Royal Air Force) in Cheshire. We met in 1940. We used to go out dancing and it carried on from there."
"They wouldn't have met otherwise," said Mrs Whiffen.
The couple were married in 1941 in Mabel's home town of Netherton, Maryport, in Cumbria. They were married for 73 years, until Mabel passed away four years ago.
Mr and Mrs Beattie had one daughter, one grandson and two great-grandsons.
Staff and residents at Ty George Lansbury Extra Care Scheme in Cwmbran celebrated Ken Beattie's 100th birthday with a live performance.
After the war, the Beatties moved to Cwmbran, with Mr Beattie working at Girlings for 43 years from 1954.
"We would go on holidays abroad and used to go off in the caravan," said Mr Beattie. "We would go to Spain after Christmas for a month in the winter.
"We went to avoid the bad weather.
"We used to go to Benidorm, and also went to Turkey quite a lot."
"We would also go to the dancing club," he added.
Mr Beattie said he had seen a lot of changes in Newport and Cwmbran over the years.
"I used to go swimming in the river when we were kids," he said. "It was very different to what it is now.
"When I got a job at Girlings, they offered us a Girlings house. We saw so much change from there."
When asked the secret to his long life, Mr Beattie said: "I think it's the good living."
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