Hero Harry celebrates happy 102nd birthday
Veteran D-Day pilot marks milestone with garden party with familly and friends
A larger-than-life veteran D-Day pilot is celebrating his 102nd birthday.
Harry Gamper, a resident at Malin Court care home in Maidens, marked the milestone with a garden party in the warm Ayrshire sun surrounded by family, friends, staff and even a few special visitors.
Royal Navy petty officer Callum McCrindle from Faslane and Ritchie Conaghan from Girvan and District Great War Project popped along to join in the celebrations and wish the World War II pilot a very happy birthday.
Great-grandfather Harry has now lived through a global war and a global pandemic, celebrating his 100th birthday in 2020 during the national lockdown.
Harry joined the RAF in 1941 at the age of just 21, taking to the skies in the likes of Warwicks, Wellingtons and a Catalina flying boat.
He even won campaign medals for his service in France and Germany, including a Battle of the Atlantic medal.
Harry left the RAF in 1946 and went on to marry and have two sons, David
and Andrew.
And he is proud of his family history, basking in telling the tale of his famous relative, Swiss uncle Hans-Max Gamper, who founded Barcelona Football Club after putting an ad in the paper and getting a team together.
Harry, a keen artist, previously said the secret to long life is “everything in
moderation”, adding: “Enjoying things like music and art, good food and the odd glass of wine. Being outside in the fresh air especially next to the seaside like we are here. It is so beautiful.”
And Harry certainly enjoyed soaking up the sun and fresh sea air at his garden party, where he was said to be dancing along to music with his loved ones.