One of the Melton area's great characters prepares to celebrate his 100th birthday

Peter Dalton has been involved in countless community roles and served as a councillor when a decision was taken to approve a new bypass for the town 60 years before it will be finally delivered this year.

He remembers Luftwaffe bombing raids in Twyford when he was living on the family farm as a child and the days when Melton town centre had more than 50 pubs.

Peter recently moved into Melton’s Wilton Manor Care Home and is looking forward to a family party when he turns 100 on March 27.

He told the Melton Times: “I don’t feel 100. I’ve never had an illness in my life until I had to go to hospital recently. I still love a pint of ale, they take me down the Cherry Tree or the bowls club.”

His memories of growing up in the 1920s and 1930s are still crystal clear.

“Melton has changed but not for the better,” he said. “We are losing so much. We lost the grammar school, the Corn Exchange and the magistrates court. We’ve got the bypass coming but we approved that when I was on the council in the 1960s and it has taken 60 years to build it.”

Peter was born in March 1926 in Grimston. His parents were farmers and they moved to White House Farm in Twyford when he was eight.

He was a churchwarden and a bell ringer at St Andrews Church in the village during wartime and also founded a Scouts group, although the vicar had to be the leader because he was too young.

Life was tough on the farm with no water or electricity. “When we needed water we had to go to the village pump. If mother was washing that day we had to bring back two churns full,” he recalled.

Peter joined the RAF towards the end of the war and trained in Tiger Moths, just too late to see active service before the German surrender.

He married Marjorie in 1950 and the couple were married more than 60 years before she passed away – the couple had two children, Annmarie and Nigel and Peter enjoys spending time with his four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Peter studied agriculture at Brooksby College but decided farming wasn’t for him and he took a job with Stewarts and Lloyds.

He was a parish councillor at Twyford and was elected as a rural district councillor in Melton in 1962.

Peter was a member of the Melton Amateur Operatic Society and the Round Table and played a big role in the annual parade of carnival floats through the town.

He played village cricket and turned out for Melton Rugby Club, serving on the committee as well.

Socialising has always been a passion for Peter. He recalled: “Pre-war, there was the same number of pubs in Melton as there are weeks in the year, 52. And I probably had a pint in every one.”

His daughter, Annmarie, added: “Dad is a very funny man who’s always been the life and soul of any party. His memory is still sharp and he has a million stories.”