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Tributes have been pouring in online ahead of the Christmas Eve birthday of Britain’s oldest man Donald Rose – who will be visited by the Mayor of Erewash as he turns 110.The D-Day veteran – who survived a bullet to the leg – will be presented with a cake during a wartime-themed party at the local care home where he lives.
Mayor of Erewash Cllr Kate Fennelly, who served in the RAF, 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.”
The party at the Canal Vue care home in Ilkeston comes just weeks after the war hero, who was born in 1914, attended a glittering London bash at St James’s Palace. It was hosted by the Duke of Gloucester for The Not Forgotten veterans’ charity.
A community forum has been flooded with salutes to Donald in the run-up to his birthday. One read: “What an incredible man – and incredible age.”
Another declared: “An absolute legend and hero.” Charlie Smith wrote: “He was at the Ilkeston remembrance parade. He is such a wonderful man not only for what he has done for us but who he is as a person.”
Rebecca Bramley posted: “I love reading about this gent. I’ll be dropping a pressie off on Christmas Eve.”
Naomi Allsop, who is Donald’s carer at Canal Vue, revealed that to mark the end of the war he wrote a ditty which he still sings.
In an appeal to townsfolk she said: “I would love for him to make it into an actual song with music if there’s anyone interested to make it happen?”
Donald joined the Queen’s Royal Regiment at the age of 25 and went on to train as a sniper. He served in North Africa and Europe – and jokingly puts his longevity down to salty water he had to drink during his time as a Desert Rat.
The grandad’s son David is in his 70s. He said simply: “He’s my father, he’s my hero.”
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