Grand occasion for Hucknall man Jack's 100th birthday

Jack Bullin was born in Hucknall and lived there all his life until he moved into the Highfields nursing home in Bulwell.

The restrictions of lockdown certainly didn’t put a dampener on the day or stop Jack celebrating his milestone age, which of course saw him receive a congratulatory telegram from The Queen.

Tracey Cook, deputy manager at the home, said: “We had an amazing day.

"A wonderful singer, Rebecca Lomas, came to entertain Jack and residents to help celebrate his birthday and our kitchen manager Deneice Smith made a wonderful 100th birthday cake.”

Jack initially worked for Raleigh in Nottingham before joining army in 1942, having not been able to join up earlier because he was in munitions.

During his time in the army, he served in the Royal 9th Tank Command and was part of the D-Day landings in World War II, amongst other campaigns.

After his time in military, he returned to work for Raleigh and moved on to work at Hucknall Rolls Royce as a chemex engineer until he retired.

The home arranged for Carl Jenkin, a Royal Tank Regiment veteran to present Jack with a cushion on behalf the Royal Tank Regiment on his birthday,

Bugler Andrew Brogdale, representing the Royal British Legion, also attended the day and played the General Salute and the Last Post, in memory of Jack’s fallen comrades.

Tracey continued: “The staff presented jack with a lovely pocket watch to celebrate his milestone birthday with the Royal Tank Regiment ‘Fear Naught’ emblem on it and a message engraved on the back.

“Many of our staff dressed as land girls and in 1940s clothing and the home was decorated with banners and balloons.”

Jack’s son John said: “It was amazing what they did for him at the home, we all really appreciated it.

"Dad was overwhelmed a little bit but he really enjoyed the day.

"The family had a lovely day too and of course we were all wearing masks and keeping very safe but we still had a lovely time.”