War hero and former bus driver celebrates 100th birthday

Bill Larder celebrated reaching his age milestone with family and friends at parties at The Welby pub and Scalford Court Care Home, where he now lives.

Bill has lived in Melton for over 80 years, having arrived in the town during the Second World War as a member of the 11th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment.

He was one of the few members of his battalion to survive Operation Market Garden – the dangerous descent into the Dutch town of Arnhem in 1944 – where so many men were killed or seriously wounded.

Subsequently, he joined the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, billeted in Welby Lane Camp at Melton.

Before his deployment to Palestine with the Battalion, Bill married Sheila, a local girl, with whom he had five children.

They made their home in and around Melton with their children.

Bill is believed to be the only surviving member of the 11th Parachute Battalion and the 4th Parachute Brigade.

In 2022, Bill returned to the village of Oosterbeek in the Netherlands, where he was honoured to be treated as a VIP guest at the annual commemorations of the battle.

It is perhaps appropriate then, that he has now received his 100th birthday card from King Charles III, who is also Colonel in Chief of the Parachute Regiment.

His daughter, Jan Larder-Davis, said: “Bill is a quiet, humble man, never considering himself a hero, or speaking readily of his experiences in the war, but his children love him dearly and are so proud of him and his achievements.”

After the war Bill worked on the ‘War Ag’, working on many farms in both Leicestershire and Rutland.

He later took up a career as a bus driver, initially with Nesbits of Somerby.

Bill was a proficient footballer and regularly played alongside the Nesbit brothers for the Somerby football team.

He then joined Barton Bus Company as a driver, retiring in 1989 as depot superintendent of the Melton Mowbray branch.

However, at the age of 65 he considered himself too young to retire and continued bus driving, mainly transporting many young people to schools and colleges locally.

Bill loves to go for rides in the countryside and, until recently, loved to work on his lathe, making beautiful wooden pens.

Bill’s birthday weekend began on Friday at Melton Carnegie Museum, viewing the Second World War display of the Parachute Regiment in which he is featured.

This was followed by a party at The Welby on Sunday with friends and family from both the UK and the Netherlands and a quiet party with family, friends and other residents of Scalford Court Care Home on his birthday.

He enjoyed fabulous cakes made by his daughter, Jan, and cook Jenny at Scalford Court.

Jan added: “Bill has received many cards and well wishes, including ones from the 10th Battalion Parachute Regiment, the sister regiment to the 11th and is overwhelmed and overjoyed that so many people wish him a happy birthday.

“He would like to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’.

We all wish Bill a very happy 100th birthday and many more to come.”