MORE than seven decades after delivering his first paper, 92-year-old Jack Mews is still doing a weekly round.
Mr Mews, from Bishop's Cleeve, who is believed to be the oldest paper boy in Gloucestershire, delivers the Echo to people in Alderton on Sundays.
The Second World War veteran, who served in the navy, said he still enjoys delivering papers, despite reaching the grand old age of 92 on April 2.
"I love doing it, it is very good for you," he said.
"I was only 14, just a lad, when I started delivering papers. I really enjoy being a paper boy. You do meet all sorts of people."
Mr Mews, who has lived in Bishop's Cleeve all his life, added: "It is actually a very good job and I do make a lot of friends out there."
He has a top tip for keeping fit and active.
"I take three teaspoons of Manuka honey a day and I have absolutely no problems," he said.
Mr Mews worked as a chef on a train before joining the Royal Marines on the first day Britain declared war on Germany.
He was two inches too short for the post, but was accepted into the Royal Navy and served in places such as Malta and Gibraltar, fighting the enemy from the ships he was onboard.
Mr Mews played a key part in the infamous Battle of Dunkirk.
He worked to evacuate British and Allied troops from the beaches, spending more than two weeks under enemy fire.
Mr Mews said: "My dad was in the Royal Marines Artillery for 21 years, and I wanted to join the Marines as well, and I guess I did serve my country."
Fighting in the war changed his life, he said, and when he returned home he decided to marry his wife, Mary, whom he had met in Scotland before he enlisted. Having spent the war years writing to her from the boats he was serving on, he was adamant on marrying her, and they lived together happily until she died in 2005, having two children, Alan and Carol.
"It was love at first sight when I saw her walking up that hill in Edinburgh," he said. "She was beautiful. We kept in contact during the war, and when I came back, I knew I had to marry her."
