THIS Sunday will be kept special by one borough resident – it’s his 100th birthday.
John Clemetson has lived in Wokingham for nearly 60 years, but was originally from the north west.
And he served in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War, taking part in the Battle of Dunkirk and spent three years as a prisoner of war.
In more peaceful times, he has been a member of All Saints Church in Wiltshire Road, and served as secretary of its Parochial Church Council for 20 years.
His daughter Jane Clemetson is looking forward to celebrating his milestone birthday.
Looking back on his life, she said: “He was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne and raised in a working class background
“He joined the army and was called up in 1939 and went to France with the British expeditionary force and was in the 72nd field regiment of the Royal Artillery as a gunner.
“He was at Dunkirk where he was evacuated and went back to the middle east and was captured in North Africa in 1942 and was a prisoner of war for three years in what is now Czech Republic.”
After the war, Mrs Clemetson said that he “hadn’t quite had enough excitement for one life” and joined the insolvency service, becoming an official receiver before he retired.
And he didn’t stop there: “After he retired, he did a degree in archaeology as he has always been very keen on history and Roman history and got a first-class degree.”
His family had been hoping to commemorate his special day with a large celebration, however those plans have had to be changed due to lockdown restrictions.
He will still be able to see family and friends to celebrate the milestone of reaching 100.
“We were going to have a really big party, but unfortunately that has been spoiled due to the lockdown,” continued Mrs Clemetson.
“I’m going to go over with my husband and some of the neighbours are going to come round to celebrate in a socially distanced way.”
