RAF veteran near Leamington thanks well-wishers after receiving hundreds of cards on 100th birthday

Richard ‘Dick’ Skepper, who joined the RAF at the age of 18 when the Second World War broke out, received more than 1,000 birthday cards following an appeal by the RAF Association to mark his milestone birthday.

As we reported previously, the RAF Association (RAFA) put out the appeal in June asking for people to send cards to the wartime veteran to help make his centenary a day to remember.

Dick, who was born on 30 June, 1924, in Kent, moved with his wife Irene to a nursing home in Kineton to be closer to his son.

Mr Skepper’s wife died in 2018 and he has continued to live in the home. His sisters and brothers have also passed away.

Dick’s son David said: “My dad received cards from children as young as six-months-old to people in their nineties. He has received cards from all over around the world. We’ve seen postage stamps from Australia, North and Central America, as well as a host of European countries.

“Dad has been overwhelmed by the sheer number of cards he received and was touched by the number of people who had taken the time to send a card and thank him for his service during his time in the RAF.”

Dick, who served in 7 Squadron under Bomber Command at RAF Oakington in Cambridgeshire after qualifying as a Flight Mechanic - Engines (FM1), celebrated his birthday at the end of June with a garden party at his home at Kineton Manor Nursing Home in Warwickshire, surrounded by family and friends.

David continued: “Well-wishers have invested so much of their time and my dad has been truly humbled by the care and love shown to him in every single card he has received. He has read every message, enjoyed the variety of cards and been amazed by their origins.”

“It would be impossible for dad to thank everyone individually, but you have all helped make his 100th birthday truly wonderful and given him new memories to take forward into his 101st year!”