War hero celebrates 104th birthday with family in East Preston

Stanley Laishley, known as Jack, joined the Army as a draughtsman two months after the Second World War started and was first based in Milan with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps.

He returned to the UK from Dunkirk in 1940 as part of Operation Dynamo and was then shipped to South Africa with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) in 1942. He fought with the Army as a mechanic and continued to serve until 1946.

Nephew Michael Robinson said: "As an ex-Dunkirk and war hero, he deserves some recognition for such a fruitful life. Our celebration of his life will hopefully show him how much we love him."

Jack was born in Richmond, Surrey, on February 18, 1919. He married Winnie in 1948 and they had a daughter, Patricia, who sadly died of sepsis at an early age.

Michael said: "His real name is Stanley Alfred Laishley, always know to us and called Jack, as his dad was also a Stanley, which caused confusion in the home.

"He was enlisted on November 1, 1939, but previously, after leaving school, he was a gas engineer apprentice.

"After the war, he went back to South Africa, where he spent another three years before returning to live in Broadwater, then after his wife’s departure, moved to Milliers Court, East Preston."

Jack is now living at White Lodge Residential Home in East Preston, where a party was held on Saturday with family and friends.