Second World War hero celebrates 100th birthday on anniversary of Armistice Day

A Second World War veteran from New Moston is celebrating his 100th birthday on the 103rd anniversary of Armistice Day.

Corporal Donald McCaig, was a member of the White Rhino 40, Queens Bays, 2nd Dragoon Guards, 2nd Army Brigade, 1st Army Division.

The timing of his 100th birthday coincides with Armistice Day, which is marked on November 11 with a two-minute silence at 11am.

The First World War (1914-1918) ended when the Allies and Germany signed an Armistice agreement on 11 November 1918.

A Mancunian through and through, Donald lived in New Moston for a great number of years.

The oldest of four children, Donald is the only sibling to have survived.Currently residing in a Manchester care home, he has dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Although he struggles with his short-term memory, he has no problem recognising his family members or even recalling events from 30 or 40 years ago.

And he has had quite an illustrious life, starting from the day he was born at his home in Miles Platting.

Some of his personal documents may suggest otherwise, but Donald was born just after midnight, on the 11th of November, 1921.

Shortly after giving birth to Donald, his mother was told by the midwife: "We can't have an Armistice Day baby!"

So, the midwife recorded Donald's birth date as November 10 instead. At age 14, Donald left school and began work as a cabinet-maker. Upon joining the Armed Forces, he was one of the youngest in his regiment. He was a radio and signal operator in the tank regiment.

A Desert Rat, Donald saw action in the Battle of El Alamein in Egypt in 1942.He also went through Libya into Italy, as part of the Allies' struggle for North Africa.

In one battle during the Italian campaign, all the tanks went into the valley and Donald was shot at from either side of the valley walls. Just a few days before he was conscripted abroad, he met his late wife, Hilda, at a picture-house in Failsworth. The couple got married on 25th May, 1946.

Donald was 24 and his bride was 22. Together, they had children Stuart, Ian and Lindsey.During their courtship, Donald and Hilda wrote to each other for four years.

They were happily married and were "always together", except for their separation during his war years.

All his working life, Donald was a cabinet-maker and joiner, until he retired. In June 2019, Donald sadly became widowed.

Donald also has had three granddaughters, two great-grandsons and two great-granddaughters, as well as two great-great granddaughters.

The Second World War is not the only battle Donald survived. In the early days of the pandemic, Donald became very unwell with coronavirus, at a time when testing for the virus was not readily available.

Donald's father was a First World War veteran, who was in the Battles of the Ypres in 1914 and the Somme in 1916.

After losing an arm, he was commissioned out of the army and received a certificate signed by the King of England at the time.

Donald celebrated with a pint at his local, the Fairway Inn in Moston.