Veteran 100-year-old Bexhill bowls player reveals secret to success

WATCH: Albert Stone tells ITV News Meridian about his passion for bowls over the decades

A 100-year-old air force veteran, who still plays bowls competitively, has revealed the secret to his success.

Albert ‘Rocky’ Stone, who lives in Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex, has played weekly at the Egerton Park Indoor Bowls Club since 1991.

The former Second World War pilot initially took up the sport when he lost his first wife to cancer in the 1980s.

Mr Stone said: “It's a great privilege for me to come here and to know so many people. I mean, if you sit indoors and look at four walls, you’re not going to get very far and you won't know anybody. So, coming here it's almost home from home for me.”

He is regarded as a formidable player and his team plays competitively in the club league.

Club chairman Denis Parkinson said: “He is a wonderful guy and we treasure him greatly. He’s still a very good bowler. Unfortunately, if you play against him, it can be quite annoying. But a lovely guy and he deserves all the credit he's got.”

Known as ‘Rocky’ since his RAF days, Albert Stone was born on 17th April, 1924, in the East End of London.

He joined the RAF at the age of 17, and travelled to Scotland, Australia and Canada during World War II.

He is the longest serving and oldest member of Egerton Park Indoor Bowls Club where a birthday party was held on Wednesday, 8 May.

Asked by ITV News Meridian whether there was a secret to his long life and good health, Mr Stone said: “What I've done over the years, is have a glass of red wine daily with a main meal and the occasional single malt.”

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