Public urged to send birthday cards to veteran who has no surviving relatives

A WW2 veteran with no surviving relatives hopes to receive a blitz of birthday cards when he turns 105 following a charity appeal. Ernest Horsfall, who has seen 27 Prime Ministers and five British monarchs in his lifetime, served in both London and North Africa where he maintain Allied tanks.

But now the Royal British Legion called for the brave ex-servicemen to get a deluge of letters for his big day next month. The ex-staff sergeant served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) from 1940 to 1946, before settling in Lancashire where he worked for Vauxhall Motors.

Remarkably, Ernest went on to take flying lessons at 43 and was a private pilot until the age of 93 when couldn’t get insured. He maintained aircraft until he was 101.

While he has no surviving family, the daredevil has a 63-year-old girlfriend in Iceland, and they speak online several times a week after spending 13 years together. And brave Ernest says he still has vivid memories of serving with the Army Ordnance Corps in London in 1940 and feels lucky to have survived the terrible conflict.

He said: “There would be swarms of Nazi bombers flying overhead all night and I knew many people that were 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.”

Ernest was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 1918, three weeks after the RAF was formed. He was married for 57 years and had a son and a sister, but they have both now passed away.

Ernest will celebrate his birthday on April 21, with the Royal British Legion asking the public to send cards to the old people’s home in Preston where he is a resident. The charity’s 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. 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.”

In November 2019, Ernest received an emotional VIP send-off from Preston Railway Station on his way to take part in the Royal British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance in London. He was one of only 44 WW2 veterans to take to the stage during the Festival at the Royal Albert Hall.

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.”

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