Oldest ex-Marine still going strong at 100th birthday

STRAIGHT backed and still fighting fit, Britain’s oldest former Royal Marine Albert Joyner turned 100 this week, but has more stamina than some people half his age.

Four years as a Marine cadet and another 26 years in the Marines have set in stone his self-discipline and toughness, attributes he draws on while collecting money for the annual Poppy Appeal.

Mr Joyner has been a regular sight in Keighley, rain or shine, shaking a tin for the Royal British Legion in the run-up Remembrance Day.

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Yesterday he was preparing for two celebratory events this weekend to mark his 100th birthday.

On Tuesday evening he was honoured by the Royal Marines Association, of which he is the oldest member among 6,000 ex-Marines.

Among those paying tribute was Marine Association member Brian Broadbent, of Wakefield, who said: “He’s a fine gentleman, one of the old school, there’s no doubt about that.

“He is admired and looked up to by everybody in the Royal Marines branch.

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“He has spent hours outside supermarkets collecting for the Poppy Appeal. He did it last year and he will probably be doing it this year.

“He lives independently and is really self-sufficient; an amazing sort of bloke and one to look up to.”

Mr Joyner is also noted for his modesty.

Yesterday he would only say that he was “managing to put up with” all the attention and that “everybody made me a big hero” at the party on Tuesday.

His niece Jean Nash, 76, said: “I think he’s wonderful and he is a modest man. It is overwhelming for him sometimes.”

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She has been close to her uncle for over 70 years and recalls his days in the Forces.

“I remember him after the war and heard all about his exploits during the war. During the battles he was on ships on searchlights and guns. Bombs came down and killed his cousin, who was on the same ship.

“We are all really proud of him. He was really a very handsome young man.”

Mr Joyner has a busy diary this month which includes four parties to celebrate his birthday and a VIP invite to a 1940s-themed dance in Haworth on October 29.

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Yesterday he was too busy to talk in detail about his wartime service, but earlier revealed how close he had come to being killed on several occasions.

In April 1940 he was in a fjord in Norway aboard HMS Curacoa, a cruiser in the Atlantic fleet. During an attack from the air, bombs fell onto the ship, killing his cousin Bill, a stoker.

Mr Joyner later recalled: “There comes a time when you just don’t know whether you are going to live or die. I must have had a lucky star.”

Life in the Marines gave him in a passion for keeping fit, as well as self-sufficiency. More recently it has meant just a few minutes on an exercise bike and some walking.

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A photograph from his service days shows Mr Joyner on a sewing machine in Gibraltar. He had taught himself to use it and spent time doing sewing repairs for crewmates.

Later on he enjoyed ballroom dancing with his late wife, Rose.

“I taught myself dressmaking for that,” he recalled. “That’s how it has always been with me – keep going, do what needs doing and think young.”

He has no plans to stop collecting for the Poppy Appeal and is due to attend the Remembrance Day event next month in Bradford.

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For many years he has spent six hours a day collecting for the Poppy Appeal outside the Netto supermarket in Keighley, not far from where he lives.

“As long as I live I will keep collecting,” he said. “Once a Marine, always a Marine, You are never too old.”

TAILOR MADE FOR LIFETIME OF SERVICE

THE son of a Royal Marine from London’s East End, Albert Joyner was a Marine Cadet at 10 and left school at 14 to take up employment running errands for a tailoring firm.

He impressed his cadet tutors with his shooting skills. They came in useful when he manned the ship’s guns during fighting off Italy during the Salerno landings in 1943.

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He joined the Marines in 1930 in Chatham and saw service on HMS Dragon, HMS Southampton and HMS Mauritius among other vessels.

In 1937 he was aboard HMS Southampton which spent several months off the coast of Spain during the Civil War.

Mr Joyner, a colour sergeant, left the Marines in 1956, having completed 26 years service.

In April this year he became president of the northern region of the Royal Marines Association and remains active in that post.

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