‘Rough and ready’ Newhall lad Joe dies at age of 102
REMEMBRANCE SERVICES STALWART SERVED IN EGYPT
A SECOND World War war veteran who fought on the frontline has died at the amazing age of 102 with his family around him.
Joe Cave appeared in the Burton Mail after celebrating his 100th birthday in 2018. He often referred to himself as a “rough and ready” Newhall lad who worked briefly as a miner before National Service saw him fight for his country in Egypt as the Second World war broke out.
Now it has emerged he has died at Burton’s Queen’s Hospital, just weeks after he found out he was going to be a great-grandad again.
Since his death, tributes have poured in, including from Swadlincote’s Royal British Legion.
A Legion spokesman said: “We will miss Joe’s smiling face at our events on Remembrance Sunday, where he was such a familiar face to everyone who attended.”
His funeral was held on May 6 and donations were made to the Royal British Legion. He died in April, family have confirmed.
Mr Cave, was born in Newhall, on December 21, 1918 – a month after the end of the First World War – and was the second of five children, growing up in a two-bed house.
He went to attend Newhall Council School until he was 14 in 1932, being given half a day off school to go out and find a job, which led to him briefly working as a miner.
He later started working at Eatoughs shoe factory in Burton, where he remained for 50 years.
In 1940, Joe started his National Service in the Army and fought in Egypt when the Second World War broke out.
While there, he met dozens of other men who had come from the Swadlincote area.
He also had to deal with the loss of several school friends during in the conflict. One of these men was Joe Knight, who is remembered on the war memorial in Newhall.
After his service, Joe returned to Newhall in June 1946 and returned to work at Eatoughs. He previously told the Burton Mail on his 100th birthday: “I never went far from Newhall. My mum was a Newhall girl and my dad was a Woodville lad, but I always had a soft spot for Newhall. Us Newhall lads are rough and ready – I like that.” Joe met wife-to-be Gladys at the bus stop and their first date was at the Majestic Cinema, in Swadlincote. The pair courted for three years before Joe proposed with a £25 ring he had bought in Derby. They then married on March 24, 1951, at the former Catholic church in Swadlincote and they honeymooned in Blackpool. They were together 64 years until Gladys died six years ago.
He and Gladys had two daughters, Pauline, 67, who cared for Joe at his home in Woodville, and Patricia, 63. They also had three grandchildren, Carl, 38, Nigel, 37 and Amanda, 35. Joe was also the proud great-grandfather of Alfie, 13 and Pixie, 8.