A 108-year-old veteran who received over 150 birthday cards - most of them from people he doesn't know - has been left overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers. Donald Rose was born on Christmas Eve, 1914.
He now lives in a Derbyshire care home where staff describe him as "fantastic man” and “one of a kind”. The outpouring of birthday wishes started when Sandra Bond from Veterans' Foundation urged people to send wish their warm wishes to Mr Rose.
Even Mr Rose's family say they have been touched by the kindness of locals and complete strangers, reports DerbyshireLive. At the time of writing those close to Mr Rose - who served in the 8th Army as a ‘Desert Rat’ under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery in Africa and as part of the liberation of Italy and France during the Second World War - estimate he has received between 150 and 160 cards.
This includes around 50 arriving on one day alone, with the flow of well wishes still not ceasing despite his birthday being more than a week ago. But Mr Rose remains humble and shocked at the effort others have gone to celebrate his selfless life.
He said: “I’ve never had so many [cards] in all my life, I don’t even know who they are. I think it’s grand, very nice.”
When asked if his 108th year feels like a milestone or just another birthday, Mr Rose added: “As for how I feel myself, to tell you the truth I feel like I’m imposing on other people to look after me. I’ve always done everything myself.
"It doesn’t feel like a milestone, no. There’s no secret, everybody asks me this.”
Mr Rose then recalled receiving his telegram from the late Queen on his 100th birthday. He said: “When I was 100, the postman brought a telegram.
"He said, ‘Somebody has got you a telegram’. I said, ‘Yes, it’s from the Queen, I know her, I told her to send me one.’”
He went on to describe the changes he has seen in over a century, highlighting how technology has changed the world of work. Mr Rose, who lived in Sussex and Hertfordshire before moving to Derbyshire six years ago following his wife Jeanette’s death in 2001, said: “I remember my old man with a copper pan over the fire and boiling it all up and taking it out into the sink - there weren’t machines in them days.
“Technology has made big improvements, but the trouble with technology is it has done away with work as well. When I worked for the gas board many moons ago, I saw a bloke with a lorry down the bottom of my road where I lived in Hertfordshire.
“He dug the hole, got the soil out and put it into the lorry. That’s all done by machine now, but then it was just one man.
"When I started doing it, it took about three of us. I also remember my old house, I bought that in about 1931 for about 25 shillings.”
Donald’s son, David Rose, 74, a retired NHS hospital technician who lives in West Hallam, said: “I’m overwhelmed, it was a real lump in the throat moment, you know. To know people did that sort of thing, it’s amazing.
“Even Morrisons got him a card, we’re all gobsmacked. It’s very, very thoughtful and they don’t even know the man.
“He has always been a hard-working man, he would give away his last ha’penny, often to his detriment I should say. We’ve never had any arguments, he doesn’t like confrontation - he’s such a kind gentleman.
"He always worked to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads. I remember this was especially hard during food rationing in the 1950s, he used to work 24/7.”
After winning medals for his service, including the Legion of Honour, France’s highest accolade, David described how his father would not have kept them if his family had not insisted. He said: “He didn’t want the medals, he wanted no fuss and he just got on with it.”
Activities coordinator at the Canal Vue retirement home, Natalie Summerfield, said: “He’s a fantastic man, marvellous and one of a kind. It’s overwhelming for everybody, the cards have been coming out of nowhere, through the post and emails.”
