00:00A century of memories, a lifetime of service and a very special milestone.
00:06Family, friends and former colleagues have come together in Queenborough
00:10to celebrate the 100th birthday of a man whose life has been closely tied to the local community.
00:16He is an inspiration to us all, he still lives on his own, does his exercises every day, he is
00:25amazing.
00:25See them all come together to celebrate the special birthday, obviously because how many people get to be 100.
00:33It's just special seeing everyone here, absolutely amazing, yeah.
00:36Birthday boy Charlie also received a special birthday message from the King,
00:41a tradition where the monarch sends their congratulations to mark the occasion.
00:45How does it feel to have turned 100 years old?
00:49It feels the same, I think. It's good. I enjoyed it.
00:56I see you received your card from the King as well. What was that like getting the cards come through?
01:03It was nice to get it.
01:07Charlie has lived in Queenborough his entire life, not including his time in service during the war.
01:14And for his daughters, the day's events raised some very fond memories with their father.
01:20When we lived in our house when we were very young, he used to have a push bike.
01:25So when the alarm went off in the hallway, which was like a big bell then,
01:29and he used to make such a loud noise, he had to get on his push bike and he used
01:32to have to pedal up to the station.
01:33And halfway there, one of the firemen would stop, put him in the car, leave his bike there,
01:38and obviously go back and pick it up after.
01:40At this arts and community centre behind me, celebrations are still ongoing for Charlie's 100th birthday,
01:47a massive milestone. But this isn't the only milestone that's being celebrated today.
01:52They're also commemorating his 22 years of service as a fireman here in Queenborough.
01:57To mark the occasion, his family wanted to bring together some of the people who've been part
02:01of Charlie's journey, including former colleagues from the fire service.
02:06The celebrations also brought a special surprise, with the current Sheppey fire brigade presenting
02:12Charlie with a certificate in recognition of his years of service. He spent 100 years building a
02:18lifetime of memories. And at this party, the very people who've been part of that journey
02:24have come together to make one more. Nayla Mahamid for KMTV in Queenborough.
