Brooke church bells ring out to celebrate Harold Killingback’s 100th birthday

Bells rang out in honour of a former churchwarden as he celebrated his 100th birthday.

Harold Killingback listened to the quarter peel of bells at St Peter’s Church in Brooke before heading off for a weekend of celebrations.

He and wife Joan spent the weekend at Normanton Park Hotel where they were joined by family and friends, including Harold’s identical twin John.

The brothers have always been close, attending university and starting work together before life took them on different paths, but they still meet up every few months and were thrilled to celebrate their milestone birthday together.

Harold said: “Growing up with a twin was very pleasant - it just seemed normal to us and we got on very well.

“When we were toddlers I remember us being in a twin pram facing each other with a tarpaulin between to keep the rain off. We’d burrow underneath it and joke about swapping places but our mother said she could always tell us apart.”

The twins were born in Northamptonshire on November 22, 1924 but moved to London when they were young. They went on to study mechanical engineering at Imperial College London and served with the Home Guard before working at a munitions factory in Lancashire.

Harold later worked for a company which produced Corgi folding motorcycles and then the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority until his retirement.

He was married to Monica and they had a son Bob together, but mother and son both died of bowel cancer in their 50s. Harold remarried in 1982 after meeting his second wife Joan on a walking holiday in Italy.

Outside work and travel, one of Harold’s biggest hobbies was gemology and earlier this year he received a medal from the Scottish Gemology Association for his outstanding contribution. Harold also enjoyed silversmithing and was churchwarden in his home village of Brooke for 23 years until he stepped down 10 years ago.

He said: “I’m incredibly grateful for their gesture of ringing the bells for my birthday.”

The centenarian’s top tips for a long life are to drink lots of gin and be sensible when it comes to exercise, with Harold still enjoying a daily walk around the village.