A WELL-known former serviceman and village postman is following in his father’s footsteps as he celebrates his 100th birthday.
Tommy Bell, of Gosforth, marked his milestone birthday on May 18 with a surprise pie and peas supper at the New Life Church in Whitehaven and a birthday cake made by his daughter, Janice.
Tommy Bell received a card from the King for his 100th birthday (Image: Family handout)
He was also presented with two shields from The Royal Border Regiment and The Duke of Lancaster Regiment and received a card from the King.
It was a full circle moment for the centenarian, who in 1987 delivered a 100th birthday card from the Queen to his dad, James Bell, while working as a postman.
When asked how he felt about turning 100, Mr Bell said: “Not too bad. I didn’t expect all this and all these people coming to see us.”
Mr Bell was born near Kendal on May 18,1925. When he was two, he moved to Scotland, where his dad worked as a gamekeeper.
The family moved from Scotland to Muncaster in 1942 when Mr Bell was 17 and his dad was gamekeeper for the Muncaster estate. In December 1944, Mr Bell went to Windsor to enlist with the Royal Horse Guards.
He was transferred to the Royal Welsh Guards for nine months and then went to Durranhill Barracks. He was in the Border Regiment and served in India for two years. He spent time in Bombay, Calcutta and Bengaluru and said it was ‘very hot’.
Mr Bell returned to England in 1947 and finished in the Second Battalion of the Manchester Regiment, based in Stockport. He left the army when he was 22 and then worked on the railways for 13 years.
He married his first wife, Thelma, in Distington in 1960 and their first daughter Janice was born the same year. They had another daughter, Lorna in 1963. In 1975, he remarried to Janet, who passed away three years ago.
Mr Bell has grandchildren Nicola, Sarah, Rory, Jack and Joanna and two great-grandchildren, Castiel and Chloe.
Mr Bell is well-known in Gosforth, where he worked as a postman for 30 years and enjoyed ‘having a good crack’ with residents. He then worked as a bank guard at NatWest for five years in Seascale and later in Egremont.
Tommy Bell celebrates his 100th birthday at the New Life Church in Whitehaven with a cake made by his daughter, Janice (Image: Family handout)
He used to play the accordion, playing in bands and in church and he still enjoys playing the keyboard. He attends New Life Church in Whitehaven.
Genetics have no doubt played a role in Mr Bell’s longevity - his dad lived to be 106 - but when asked what the secret to a long life was, Mr Bell said it was ‘staying active’. His dad could always be found on the moors, even in later life.
Mr Bell still enjoys going for walks and says he ‘used to walk for miles’.