A war veteran from High Wycombe, who is deaf and suffers from skin cancer, celebrated his 100th birthday last week in Spain surrounded by friends.

Harold William Fletcher was born on December 2 1916 and lived in West Wycombe Road with his parents, working for the Wycombe Electricity Company after leaving school.

Mr Fletcher, said: “As war approached we got the job of wiring up furniture factories so that they would be fit for heavy engineering when the time was right.

“This work was done at night to avoid disruption to normal production of furniture.”

He joined the army at the start of World War Two, becoming severely injured after a shell exploded, detonating the mine he and his colleagues were inspecting in Normandy.

He was sent back to England and spent 18 months in hospital, after which he moved to Marlow with his wife and child.

Good friend Andrew Milne told the Bucks Free Press he took up photography after the war ended, and became an aviator at Booker learning to glide. The then graduated to powered aircraft, eventually becoming the chief gliding instructor at Booker Gliding Club.

Mr Milne also said Mr Fletcher was an “accomplished” musician, playing trumpet in major venues such as The London Palladium, with popular orchestras of the time.

He enjoyed dancing and, after the death of his wife, joined a dancing club where he met partner Peggy. They travelled around the world, eventually settling in Spain because, he said, they liked the weather.

Speaking about his milestone birthday, Mr Fletcher said: “It has been a long time coming, and I am rather tired these days but I have many friends to help me.”