UK's oldest man celebrates 110th birthday on Christmas Eve
Donald Rose, who lives in a care home in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, turned 110 on 24 December.
The oldest man in the UK has celebrated his birthday this Christmas Eve.
Donald Rose turned on 24 December and will have a wartime theme party at the care home in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, where he lives.
Rose was a sniper and Desert Rat in North Africa, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany during the Second World War and was shot during the D-Day landings.
He also served with the Queen's Royal Regiment and earned a number of medals, including the Legion D'Honneur, France's highest honour.
Rose was born on Christmas Eve in 1914, the same year Britain was plunged into the First World War.
He has previously joked that his longevity as down to his insides being 'pickled' by drinking sea water and eating dog biscuits during the Second World War.
Kate Fennelly, the mayor of Erewash Borough Council in Derbyshire, who will present him with a specially made cake, hailed him as “amazing and wonderful”.
She said: “Donald is a lovely character – and a true national treasure. The borough is proud to cherish him as its most senior resident.”
In May, Rose was honoured with a special Spitfire flyover as part of a series of events to commemorate the Second World War.
Carer Naomi Allsop said: "He's the oldest World War Two veteran in the UK - you learn about it at school, but being with him is something else.
"He thinks the men that fell are the heroes, and he doesn't see himself as one because he lived and they didn't.
“He's so lovely, he likes to sing a lot and tells funny stories. I've known Donald since he came to the home and we've been best friends ever since."
Rose has been at the care home since 2020 and has one grandchild and three great-grandchildren.
His son, David, who is in his 70s, said: “He’s my father, he’s my hero.”
Rose, who was born in Surrey, moved to Derbyshire in 2000 after his late wife of 55 years, Jeannette, passed away.
He signed up to the British Army in 1939 and served in the Queen’s Royal Regiment in Guilford, with the 7th Armoured Brigade and fought on the front-line during the Second World War.
He joined the Eighth Army as a "Desert Rat" under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery in Africa and as part of the liberation of Italy and France.
Rose worked into his early 70s and had various jobs as a labourer, working for the gas board, as a lorry driver and also a bin man.
Is the UK's population getting older?
The older population in England is getting larger, according to the State of Ageing 2023-24 report, produced by the Centre for Ageing Better charity.
It said that in the past 40 years, the number of people aged 50 and over has increased by more than 6.8m, an increase of 47%.
The number of people aged 65 and over has gone up by more than 3.5m in that time, an increase of 52%.
More than 10 million people are 65 and over, making up 18% of the population, the report said.
The number of those aged 80 and over - the fastest growing group of the population - is forecast to more than double to over 6 million in the next 40 years.
Click below to see the latest East Midlands headlines
