COVIDBUSTER
WWII BOMBER COMMAND HERO TAKES POT SHOT AT CORONAVIRUS AS HE TURNS 106
HE HAS survived Spanish flu, played a part in the Dambusters raid and returned from a concentration camp in Germany weighing just 6st.
But Fred Vinecombe – who this week celebrated his 106th birthday – is not content to sit in his armchair and reflect on his incredible life.
He says he still feels like he did in his 20s – and can’t wait for the Covid crisis to be over so he can resume going out for his weekly food shop.
‘He is doing extremely well but we are being so careful due to the pandemic,’ said the war hero’s daughter Denise, who celebrated his birthday with him at her home on Wednesday.
She added: ‘He is just incredible for his age. He would always be up for a trip to the supermarket and hopefully we can get back to that.’
Born in 1914, Fred served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a flight sergeant during World War II. He was part of the iconic Lancaster Bomber Command crew which targeted dams in Germany with ‘bouncing bombs’ in 1943.
A year later, he was gunned down over France and held as a prisoner of war at the Buchenwald camp near Weimar.
On returning to the UK, he worked as a tax collector until he was 80, when he had to retire as his eyesight was failing.
Fred now lives at an assisted living facility in Plympton, Devon, but has moved in with his daughter so they can be in a Covid ‘bubble’ together.
He attributes his long life to ‘ eating greens and a good roast on Sundays’.
Denise said: ‘He’s never wanted people to know too much about what had gone on in the past but, as he’s got older, I think he’s quite enjoying it.
‘Now, people are aware of what went on during the war, they’re coming up to him and talking about it.’