Call for cards as centenary for WWII veteran Stan approaches

Most of us do not know anyone born in 1925. Most of us also do not know a WWII RAF veteran. Squadron Leader Stan Mellor of Oswestry is both, and SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity is helping to give him an unforgettable 100th birthday next month – and you can take part.

As well as Stan’s birthday – February 22 – this year is full of anniversaries. SSAFA is 140 years old and of course it is the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII.

Stan’s record – a full 40 years of service in the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1983 – is extensive. Operating in the venerable Dakota, he served in Myanmar (then Burma) and Singapore, with one of his first roles helping to evacuate prisoners of war who had been held by the Japanese often in appalling conditions. Further postings took in RAF stations at Lyneham, Gibraltar, Honington, Gaydon, and Marham.

Throughout his long, long career Stan, who began as a Wireless Operator, flew in – deep breath – the Anson, Hudson, Dakota, Valetta, Hastings, York, Lincoln, Canberra, Halifax, Lancaster, Oxford, Beaufighter, Shackleton, and Nimrod as well as the nuclear strike V-Bomber trio of the Victor, Valiant, and Vulcan, the latter as both the testbed for the Concorde engine at Filton and on standby in the Cold War as an Air Electronics Officer.

He married his sweetheart Patricia, in 1949, and although she passed away 14 years ago, he has two children, and five married grandchildren – twin brothers Dominic and Kieran both joined the Army and completed several tours of Afghanistan. He has six great-grandchildren with another on the way.

As well as enjoying time with his family, pastimes for Stan have included sailing, aircraft of all types – including 1:3-scale replicas – Hudson Naylor cars, and calligraphy.

Simon Baxter, one of his grandchildren, said: “Grandpa’s love of flying probably started when he saw Sir Alan Cobham’s ‘Flying Circus’ at Aintree Racecourse when he was a boy in the ‘30s, but his mum didn’t have the five shillings needed for a flight, but I think he’s made up for that since!

“There are precious few WWII veterans now left from any of the services, and an even smaller number from the RAF, and my family is so lucky to have Stan in our lives. It would be a wonderful surprise if people could send him a card for his 100th birthday on February 22.”

Simon added that it would a way of remembering not just Stan, but also “…all the men and women of the RAF who lost their lives in WWII and those who survived but are no longer with us, especially as we mark 80 years this year since the end of that war.”

Cards and well wishes can be sent to the following address: Sqn Ldr S Mellor, c/o Mr S Baxter, 5 Dymock Drive, Shrewsbury, SY2 6GU.