Cake and family help - John 'Capper' Campion - celebrate 100th birthday at Kineton Manor Nursing Home

Members of the Royal British Legion surprised John Campion, also known as Capper to his friends and family, with a 'Happy Birthday' video call too on the special day, Monday June 29. He enjoyed talking about his days in the Armed Forces and his medals too.

Mr Campion, who served in the Royal Artillery, lives at the Kineton Manor Nursing Home.

While serving in the Army Mr Campion was posted to Palestine, and later to Syria where he was on the long range heavy guns.

After the Army he became a bricklayer, and became a master craftsman, called upon to do specialist bricklaying.

Mr Campion was born in Byfield, Northamptonshire, the second of four children, and lived there until he was about seven years old. He later moved to Butlers Marston when his father was employed on the Stratford railway. When Mr Campion left school he worked at Mr. Shirley's garage in Butlers Marston.

He met Freda Stanley at school, who later became his wife. They were married more than 50 years until she died in 1996.

He lived in Butlers Marston until he moved into the Kineton Manor Nursing Home.

Mr Campion was a 'very good' footballer, playing for Kineton.

He loved his large garden and grew copious amounts of vegetables. In recent years, when the garden became too much he took to his shed and started chopping sticks for 'the old folk' and did this until he was 98.

He had a huge allotment, with chickens, which was about half a mile from his house so he would regularly make the walk to his plot.

He always had a dog, usually small terriers, and who he spent hours with almost every day walking around the countryside. He's also an avid follower of the Warwickshire Hunt.

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