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Essex man not expected to live marks 101st birthday

Peter Daines Elderly man in a wheelchair with relatives of various ages, including children, next to a riverPeter Daines
Members of Roy Daines's family are taking him out to dinner to celebrate his birthday

A man who was not expected to survive childhood is celebrating his 101st birthday.

Roy Daines, from Silver End in Essex, was born with heart and lung defects on 18 January 1923.

He completed 33 operations with the RAF during World War Two and was one of the first British officers to go to Hiroshima, Japan after the atomic bomb was dropped.

He said: "I decided I was going to enjoy life and I have."

When he was born, five years after the end of World War One, doctors were not confident about his prospects of survival.

He told BBC Radio Essex: "I was born with a tubercular heart and a slit in my left lung and the doctor said 'he won't survive'.

"They wanted to operate when I was about four but mother said 'if he's gonna die, he's gonna die at home' and I came home."

Roy Daines Black and white photo of mother, father and two sons (one wearing a cap) outside a caravanRoy Daines
Roy Daines was married to "a lovely woman" for 63 years and had two sons

He said that his earliest memory was his father "dropping down dead" in front of him when he was five.

When war broke out in 1939, Mr Daines was keen to volunteer to fight.

'Didn't like uniform'

He ruled out the army because he did not like the uniform and rejected the navy as he was not a good swimmer.

He ended up as a wireless operator and air gunner in the RAF and was posted to India, Singapore and Japan.

Of the aftermath of the atomic attack on Hiroshima, he said: "There was nothing there, it was pretty flat, it was just dreadful."

Peter Daines Mano on motorbike with woman riding pillion beside a caravanPeter Daines
Roy Daines says he and his wife had a "marvellous life" togegther

His wartime experiences left him determined to enjoy life and he said he and his wife had "a marvellous life together".

He has spent a lot of time in recent years touring Europe in a caravan.

Peter Daines Elderly man in wheelchair wearing a cap and younger man with woolly hat behind beside a riverPeter Daines
Roy Daines's son, Peter, is now 69

The loss of one of his sons recently was "very painful" but his other son, Peter, is still going strong at 69.

Mr Daines said was "not quite so mobile" these days but still did his own cooking and washing.

And his secret to a long life? "You've got to keep moving and looking forward all the time.

"I don't dream about things that happened in the past that were unpleasant.

"I'm not thinking about mortuaries and things like that which they keep putting on this blasted telly."

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