After 100 years, Arthur Godden has seen some ups and downs. He says he has been fortunate that when the down times came, they were always followed by the ups.
At the Belmont Maccas on Tuesday, where Arthur and his wife Gloria are regular customers, the Hunter's most recent centenarian was in high spirits.
He had celebrated his milestone birthday surrounded by his family at a special event at Swansea RSL where as many as 85 relatives and friends had turned out to wish him well.
Mr and Mrs Godden moved to Belmont from Caves Beach a few years back, and were originally from Kiama before their son's health brought them to the Hunter.
The couple married two days before Anzac Day in April, 1949, and Mr Godden said - as is the story of life - there have been ups and downs, but he is more in love with Gloria now than he has ever been.
"There was something about him," Mrs Godden recalled of meeting her war veteran husband as a younger woman.
The pair had worked together and shared a 12-month engagement before they ultimately married.
"He was very laid back and always his own person; a very attentive man and very caring husband and father."
Mr Godden enlisted with the army in 1941 at the age of 18 and was posted to the protection of Richmond Air Base before he transferred with the Australian Imperial Force to Darwin.
He was in that town in February 1942, when 250 service personnel and civilians were killed by Japanese air raids and was ultimately deployed to New Guinea toward the end of the war before retiring from service and returning home to Sydney.
"It was only myself and Mum," Mr Godden said. "I decided to come back."
With Mrs Godden, he raised two children - a son and daughter - and is now surrounded by three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren and among family and friends on Tuesday said he has enjoyed a wonderful life.
"It's wonderful," he said. "Of course I have a lot of people to thank for it ... my faith encourages my attitude and along with that goes marriage and love for my family and friends; there are ups and downs that you have to get over, but I have been fortunate through my life that if there were downs, there have always been ups."
When he was, in Mr Godden's words, "only 99", he underwent surgery to fix an artificial valve in his heart, joking on Tuesday that, along with his longevity, showed the "skilfulness of the medical profession".
"I don't know how long they last," he quipped of the valve, "But as long as they do ..."
No Luddite, Mr Godden said he was a fan of most forms of new technology and still drives himself on his daily routines, but said after a life full of experience, he's wary of the march of progress.
"I don't like the new AI technology," he said. "I love technology; don't get me wrong. I love my computer, but I think there is a limit."
The staff of the Belmont Maccas, where Mr and Mrs Godden are regulars and like to drop in for a break from cooking at home, wished Arthur a happy birthday and joined in singing in his 100th year on Tuesday.
