A “remarkable” Second World War veteran will be getting a special surprise when he celebrates his 100th birthday next week.
Captain Walter Godsal RN, a Burma Star veteran who spent 37 years in the Royal Navy, is set to turn 100 on December 3.
In celebration, the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset, Ted Allen DL, will present him with a centenary birthday card on behalf of the King and Queen at Dunkirk Memorial House near Taunton on his birthday.
He will also be presented with a letter of congratulations from the First Sea Lord by Rear Admiral Ian Moncrieff DL.
Brigadier David Godsal DL, Mr Godsal’s nephew, described his uncle as a “remarkable man but always modest”.
“Like a lot of that generation, they would always say, ‘we just did what we had to do,’ but the reality is that we owe them for the freedoms we enjoy today,” he said.
“My uncle is a kind and generous man, he’s even hosting a coffee morning in his village the day after his 100th birthday to thank them for their kindness.
“But his birthday itself will be our chance to shine the spotlight on him.”
Capt Godsal is one of the few surviving members of the Burma Star Association, which supported British and Commonwealth forces who served during the Burma campaign between 1941 to 1945.
In 1945 he was a midshipman on board the destroyer HMS Verulam, part of the 26th Destroyer Flotilla of the East Indies Fleet.
Eight days after everyone back home was celebrating Victory in Europe Day, the Flotilla took part in the Battle of the Malacca Strait in which the Haguro, the flagship of the Japanese Indian Ocean Fleet, was sunk. At that point the end of the war was still three months away.
An Old Etonian, Capt Godsal and his late wife Pamela moved to Winsford, Somerset, in 1970 and both played an active role in village life.
Capt Godsal took up porcelain repair and restoration and set up a studio before Mrs Godsal died in 2004.
Capt Godsal was the treasurer and churchwarden at St Mary Magdalene Church in Winsford for many years and played an active part in both the Royal British Legion and Burma Star Association.
Following falls, and the replacement of two hips, he moved permanently into the Royal British Legion care home, Dunkirk Memorial House, in September.
