D-Day veteran celebrates 100th birthday

Published date05 April 2024
Publication titleHuddersfield Daily Examiner
Family and friends gathered at the home of John Roberts and wife Gillian in Whitstable, Kent, as he opened his birthday card from the King and Queen

The great-grandfather joined the Royal Navy at the age of 13 and served until 1978 having reached the rank of rear admiral.

On D-Day, as a 20-year-old sub-lieutenant, he was serving aboard the destroyer HMS Serapis at the front of the convoy arriving at Sword beach at 7.30am with the ship staying to fire on German positions along the coast for 11 days.

After the war he went on to become a fighter pilot, flew a Sea Fury in Korea, captained aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and headed the Fleet Air Arm.

On reaching 100, he...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT