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WW2 veterans mark 101st birthdays in Portsmouth

BBC Len Chivers and Robin Boodle are seated wearing suits and ties with military medals, while staff from the charity present them with birthday cakes. BBC
Len Chivers and Robin Boodle celebrated their 101st birthdays at a Royal Navy base in Portsmouth

Two Royal Navy veterans of World War Two have celebrated their 101st birthdays at the HMS Excellent naval base in Portsmouth.

Len Chivers and Robin Boodle, both 101 years old in June, received cake and cards, as well as a letter from the new First Sea Lord.

They were joined by two other veterans, both 98 years old, their families, and serving personnel from the Royal Navy.

This year is the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, and BBC South was invited to hear some of their memories of the conflict.

Mr Chivers, from Portsmouth, joined the Royal Navy when he was 15 years old, and survived the catastrophic bombing of his ship, the HMS Kipling, in 1942.

"The war was a rude awakening," he said.

"Four destroyers - Jarvis, Jackal, Kipling and Lively - went on an operation from Alexandria to intercept an enemy convoy bound for Benghazi.

"This was an operation when the Mediterranean fleet was at its lowest ebb. We had no battleships.

"The Lively was bombed and sank immediately. We in the Kipling picked up the survivors. She lost 75 men."

A close up photograph of Len Chivers, wearing a suit and tie while sat on a brown leather chair.
Len Chivers served aboard the HMS Kipling and helped rescue allied troops from Crete

Later, he said his crew spotted dive bombers after his own ship.

"We got a few rounds off, and then for me - complete oblivion," he said.

Fortunately, his ship took 20 minutes to sink, meaning his crew-mates could rescue him while unconscious.

Mr Chivers suffered severe burns to his face, leg and arms, and a fractured spine and was bed-ridden in Alexandria for two months, before moving on to a hospital ship.

He also helped to evacuate allied troops from Crete in 1941, after the German invasion of the Greek island.

"That was extremely expensive for us, both in terms of ships and men. Three crews were lost, six destroyers," he added.

Mr Chivers retired in 1974 after serving for 35 years.

Robin Boodle is in the lower half of the frame looking at the camera, wearing a black suit and tie. His daughter, Gay Kilshaw, is standing with her hands on his shoulders looking down at him. she is wearing a blue and white dress.
Robin Boodle attended the event with his daughter, Gay Kilshaw

Mr Boodle worked in radio and communications for five years aboard the HMS Suffolk.

He witnessed the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck, rediscovered in in 1989 by the same man who found the Titanic.

"Dad's role when he joined was first of all in the Battle of the Atlantic on the [HMS] Suffolk, he was on the guns," said Mr. Boodle's daughter, Gay.

"But because of his height, he found putting the shells in too difficult, so they actually started training him up for the radio."

He joined when he was 16 years old, leaving in 1967.

"He loved the Navy and the sea," said Gay. "He travelled the world."

An old black and white photograph of Robin Boodle when he was a teenager in his Royal Navy uniform. The photograph is in a plastic sleeve and attached to a book which contains other photographs.
A photograph of Robin Boodle in his youth in the Royal Navy

"It's just fascinating to hear them speak," said Alice Farrow, a director of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, which organised the event.

"It means so much to me that there are still these people with incredible stories to tell.

"It's just so wonderful to see them sharing them [their stories] across the generations."

Alice Farrow is blonde and wearing a blue Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity branded jumper and a silver and black necklace. She is looking at the camera. In the background is a banner displaying the charities branding.
Charity director Alice Farrow said it was important for serving personnel to hear from the veterans
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