WW2 veteran 'feels still 50' on 100th birthday

A World War Two veteran who is celebrating his 100th birthday on Thursday says he is feeling well and "I'm putting my name down for another 20 years".

Albert Malin served on the gruelling Arctic convoys during the conflict as an able seaman, on HMS Oxlip.

Despite nearly freezing to death on many occasions, he had since lived a healthy life – apart from two new hips and still lives independently.

"I'm 100, and I feel healthy and well," he said, adding: "I'm just a little bit slower. In my own mind I'm still in my 50s."

Asked if he was likely to be one of the very last surviving veterans of the Arctic convoys, Malin said: "I probably am, very few of them are left but I do think of them everyday, especially our sister ship, Bluebell.

"I was there when she sunk with all hands. I think of these people all the time - the memories are absolutely clear.

"They're as if they were yesterday and sometimes I'm sad but other times I think of the good times we had on the ship."

Malin, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, who also happens to be the cousin of BBC Midlands Today's Joanne Malin, said he felt "happy to be 100".

"It's unbelievable because time goes to quick but I don't feel 100," he said.

"Fortunately, I've got a good brain that's still working and I can still remember and still talk people.

"I still live alone and looking after myself. I do my shopping, my cooking and I'm so pleased to be able to carry on.

"As long as I can carry on that's what I'll do."

Discussing his late wife Ruby, Malin said: "I miss her every day.

"She's been gone 13 years but I still think of her every day and it never changes."

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