Wish our Ernest a happy birthday: Appeal to send cards to 105-year-old war veteran from Preston with no surviving family

But with no surviving family to help him celebrate, the Royal British Legion (RBL) has started an appeal to collect birthday cards for Ernest to make sure it’s a birthday to remember.

Ernest Horsfall, who lives in a residential home in Preston, turns 105 on April 21. As a Staff Sergeant, Ernest served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) from 1940 to 1946. He served in London during the blitz before joining the Allied campaign in North Africa, then went to Italy to maintain Allied tanks, directing 23 Italian civilian mechanics. After the war, he settled in Lancashire and worked for Vauxhall Motors. At the age of 43, Ernie took his first flying lesson and was a private pilot until the age of 93 when companies would no longer insure him. He continued to co-pilot and work as an aircraft inspector until the age of 101.

Born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 1918, Ernest was married for 57 years and had a son and a sister.

Ernest remembers serving with the Army Ordnance Corps in London during the Blitz of 1940. He said: “There would be swarms of Nazi bombers flying overhead all night and I knew many people that were with injured or worse. On one occasion, our guard room was hit and six of my pals were killed, I was just lucky it wasn’t my duty that night.” In November, 2019, he received an emotional VIP send-off from Preston Railway Station on his way to the Royal British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance in London. Ernest was one of only 44 WW2 veterans to take to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall.

At the age of 43, Ernie took his first flying lesson and was a private pilot until the age of 93 when companies would no longer insure him. He continued to co-pilot though and worked as an aircraft inspector until the age of 101. Ernest also has a 63-year-old girlfriend in Iceland, and they speak online several times a week – they have been ‘together’ for 13 years.

Ernest has already received a card from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. During his lifetime there have been 27 Prime Ministers and five British monarchs. His best friend, Terry Cook, said: “We are delighted that the RBL has decided to recognise Ernest’s wonderful career and remarkable longevity. We are planning a very special surprise party for him next month, he is a very modest man but he will be overwhelmed at this level of recognition.”

Branch Secretary Christine Parry said: “We are working hard to make sure Ernest’s 105th birthday is a very special occasion. He is part of a dwindling band of brothers, but our World War Two generation should never be forgotten. She said: “I am hoping that people across Lancashire, and perhaps throughout the country, will take time to send a card to show Ernest how much we appreciate everything he did, in order for us to enjoy the freedoms that we do today.”

Anyone wishing to send a card can write to Ernest Horsfall at Brooklands, 6 Black Bull Lane, Preston PR2 3PU.