A war veteran who celebrated his 90th birthday in Elgin last week said he still feels the same age he was when he first saw action on D-Day.
John Smith – known as “Eoin” which is the Gaelic form of John – was visited by three military personnel, a pair of Elgin pipers and a big crowd of residents at Anderson’s care home on Sunday to share stories, cake and music on his big day.
The Moray native’s first experience of war came as a teenager in 1944, when he accompanied the 51 Highland Division as part of the Royal Army Medical Corp at the D-Day landings.
Before leaving for France, he started training at Fort George, Arderseir. He tried to join an infantry regiment but, after losing an eye in an accident aged six, he was not able to enlist and joined the Royal Army Medical Corp.
The veteran spoke fleetingly of his experiences on the frontline, but said he felt far younger than his years.
Mr Smith said: “They had me down as 90. Yes, I have done a lot, but I’m only 19.
“I enjoyed my party, and the pipe music was good. I did try to learn the chanter myself, but my fingers were too small.”
Mr Smith’s wife, Margaret, passed away in 1989, but his only son, Raymond, who lives and works in Australia, said the 90-year-old has always battled on.
He said: “I can honestly say that Dad never once complained about his lot, he is a real trooper. It was episodes of Alzheimers that ended his ability to stay by himself.
“He didn’t talk much about the war, and only briefly about some places he visited, so I never really got much of a picture of this. However, I used to get the feeling that a lot of the time they didn’t know who or where or why, they just had to do and obviously without question.”
Mr Smith also served with the 1st Airborne Division at the Battle of Arnhem and was attached to the Gordon Highlanders towards the end of the war.
After returning from war, Mr Smith worked on building the Glenlatterach dam and then at distilleries in his home town of Birnie.