Northamptonshire 100-year-old Richard jokes 'boozing and smoking' is key to long life after celebrating milestone birthday

A cake was cut and drinks were had in between bowls play sessions at St Mary’s Church Hall, whereby those at the club were on hand to celebrate with their friend.

After being greeted with the age-old question of what’s the key to such a long life, Richard let out a cheeky grin and said: “Boozing and smoking!”

Richard has no central vision due to macular degeneration, but maintains he’s still ‘quite a good bowler’, having taken up the sport some years ago.

Born in Rochdale but living in Cheshire most of his life, Richard moved to Bozeat six years ago with his wife Doreen to be closer to their daughter and son-in-law. Doreen and Richard were married for 71 years after meeting at the Pioneer’s Ballroom in Rochdale.

Richard added: “I don’t feel a day over 60, there’s nothing wrong with me. I’m registered with a doctor but I haven’t seen a doctor for 20 years.

"I have worked hard. We [he and Doreen] had a really adventurous and thrilling life, really.”

Richard left school at 14 and became an electrician, however this would just be the beginning, as Richard spent time rising through the ranks, to eventually retire at age 59.

He also spent three-and-a-half-years in the Navy at the age of 18, and spent VE Day on an aircraft carrier, HMS Victorious, in the Pacific with the United States Pacific Fleet on the way to Japan, where they would never reach due to the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

After spending time on HMS Victorious mending United States aircraft, Richard eventually ended up in Singapore waiting for the trip back home, where he has plenty of fond memories.

On this, Richard said: “When I was in Singapore, Raffles Hotel was the tallest building and it was three storeys, now it’s a complete city of skyscrapers. All the buildings were single-storey with a loft.

“I was there for seven months and I was living in Malaysia. There was a peninsula into Singapore, so we’d come into Singapore almost every night for a booze up because we were just waiting for the boat.

“We used to enjoy ourselves, I enjoyed every moment.”

All these years later, Richard now enjoys a quieter life, having cooked since the age of seven, and bowls has become a big part of his life in recent years as his sight has hindered his ability to play golf.

Six months ago Doreen passed away, meaning Richard now lives alone, however the bowls club has been a means to keep Richard active and social.

Carol Witherden, a member of the bowls club, said: “Richard is a sprightly gentleman. Even though he is partially sighted, he is a very good bowler. He plays regularly, in fact he rarely misses a session.

"He lives alone and looks after himself very well. He is always very smartly dressed and although his eyesight is poor, he is always perfectly colour co-ordinated.

"He is an incredible man."