Finchampstead man Douglas toasts his 100th
ON MONDAY, a Finchmpstead man raised a glass with friends, family, and a special visitor.
Wild Acres Care Home, where he lives, was very happy to welcome the borough mayor, Cllr Caroline Smith, to complete the festivities on the occasion of Douglas Chapman’s 100th birthday.
Registered Manager of Wild Acres, Andrina Fry, said: “We’re delighted the Mayor has kindly agreed to come, and that we’ve managed to keep it all a secret from Doug.”
A keen Fulham supporter, Douglas has two grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren, aged from four to 21.
On reaching his 100th birthday, and being asked to reveal his secret of long life, Douglas said: “I don’t know, perhaps it’s all the travelling I’ve done – or maybe I’ve just been lucky.
“I especially enjoyed spending time in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital city. I loved the music there, it was a special time.”
Douglas has travelled far and wide throughout his life, and is no stranger to adventure.
He once drove from Riyadh to the UK in a car sporting a hand made number plate created from wooden crates.
And during war service with the Merchant Navy, he managed to survive more than one ship sinking.
“One of these incidents was just off Gibraltar,” said a family member.
“The ship went down, but Doug managed to escape on a raft.”
Working for the British Council then took him and his family to various locations around the globe.
And work for British Aerospace, creating technical manuals for pieces of equipment, led to a period in Saudi Arabia.
In 1970, he and his wife Joan retired to Twickenham, and now Douglas lives at Wild Acres.
His daughter, Dee, and her husband Jim live nearby, so are able to make sure that he is kept topped up with his favourite pickled onions and pork pies.
Patrick, his son, lives in Normandy with his wife,
Josette, but keeps in touch via a conferencing facility.
The family describe Douglas as a very caring person who nursed his wife in her later years, and cared for his widowed mother, making regular weekend round trips to visit her in Cambridge with his brother Brian.
They say: “Douglas has a very alert mind, and a thirst for information - perhaps this, and a few sips of the water of life have kept him young.”
Douglas is delighted to have received his telegram from the Queen, sent before her death.
He said: “It’s lovely to have this, it is very special.
“And I guess I’ll have to wait for another 100 years now, to get something like it again.”