Submitted by daniel on Wed, 09/10/2024 - 09:29 Picture Image Description Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now World War 2 veteran Harry Waddingham celebrates his 108th birthday this week on the 16th October and his wife Colette her 92nd birgday on the 18th October. Earlier this year in August they celebrated their Ruby Wedding Anniversary Harry was born in Ireland in 1916 during the Great War. He moved to England as a child and joined the Royal Navy as a boy sailor. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He was serving on the HMS Wakeful during the retreat from Dunkirk, when the ship was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of over 700 lives. Sign up to our daily SussexWorld Today newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to SussexWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Over 600 of whom were soldiers who had thought they had been rescued, were safe and on their way home to England. His next ship HMS Juno was sunk off Crete and he survived this. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The ship he had most affection for was the HMS Mendip a Hunt Class destroyer, which gave unrelenting service in the North Sea on convoy duties. After the war Harry became a teacher and taught at Archbishop Tennyson's School at the Oval in London. He subsequently became Principal of the Streatham and Tooting Institute. He and Colette moved the Bexhill in the 1980s and have been staunch supporters and members of many local groups and pillars of St. Peter's Church in the Old Town. Web Link Bexhill resident Harry Waddingham celebrates his 108th birthday on October 16 -… SussexWorld