Second World War veteran from Gosport who celebrated 100th birthday has died

Reginald Plowman, who toured the world as part of the Royal Marines Band after enlisting at the age of 14 in 1937, passed away on April 18 at the Elizabeth Lodge Care home in Alverstoke.

As reported, Reginald was joined by over 100 family and friends at the care home on Wednesday, August 30, to celebrate his centenary. The special occasion saw Gosport MP Dame Caroline Dineage, Gosport mayor Martin Pepper and mayoress Suzanne Pepper join the celebrations.

And the momentous milestone was also marked with a surprise treat for Reginald as a small contingent of the Royal Marines Band Corps of Drums – led by Colour Sergeant Bugler Nic Cansfield – played at the celebration.

Reginald’s son Francis Plowman said the performance was a highlight of the day for his father, who stood to attention and remarked upon how “special” the spectacle was. 

Francis said at the time: “It was absolutely brilliant. It was all a complete surprise to Dad. They put on a display and then met dad. They had dad wired up - which he knew very little about - and he stood up to take the salute at the end and told them it was excellent. Later on, they captured him saying ‘there’s something special going on here’. 

“It was just wonderful because he doesn’t say a lot but he seemed to switch on. The years went past and he stood with all his medals – it was very good for a 100-year-old.”

Reginald, who was born in Forton Road in 1923, tried his hand at a number of other professions after leaving the military in 1953. He worked in the Co-op on San Diego Road, as a bus conductor across Hampshire and Dorset and as a school caretaker in Holbrook Primary School, Elson Infant School and at Brune Park School up until his retirement on August 30 1987.

Francis said his father was a devout Christian, which he first developed during the Second World War, during which HMS Cleopatra – upon which he was stationed as a violinist and clarinet player - was torpedoed. Speaking to The News in 2003, “Reg” said: “It missed me by about 40 feet. If they’d pressed the trigger half a second before or after, I wouldn’t be here now.”

He also lost friends during the conflict, and later during the Korean War. He was an active member of the Gosport Naval Christian fellowship, and received a letter from the general of the Salvation Army – of which he has long been a member - congratulating him on reaching 100.

Francis previously added: "In the cards that have been written to him from all over the world, the words that come out the most are his ‘encouraging faith’. He would write to missionaries and sailors out at sea, and they still write to him now. His journey of faith really started during the war, as you can imagine. He was a changed man and a man of faith – and he never lost it.”