One of the few remaining Second World War veterans in Norfolk is about to celebrate his 100th birthday. 

Reginald Lewis, who lives at Quebec Hall care home in Dereham, served in France and Germany during the war and was later stationed in Italy, Egypt and the Middle East. 

His son, Graham Lewis, said his father was working in the Old Kent Road in London during the Blitz in 1941, which prompted him to join the army. 

Dereham Times: Reginald Lewis, one of the few remaining Second World War veterans in NorfolkReginald Lewis, one of the few remaining Second World War veterans in Norfolk (Image: Supplied)

Graham said: “He witnessed many horrific sites of bomb damage.

“He went to Southend recruiting office and on April 13, 1942 became a soldier in the 70th Young Soldiers Battalion, the Essex Regiment.” 

Mr Lewis was transferred to the Royal Corps of Signals and was based at Wimbledon Common, where he met his wife Nora - they married in 1944.

Dereham Times: Former head of the British Army Lord Richard Dannatt greeting Reginald Lewis in Dereham last yearFormer head of the British Army Lord Richard Dannatt greeting Reginald Lewis in Dereham last year (Image: Supplied)

READ MORE: No 20-minute neighbourhood for Norfolk as Tories row back on 'anti-car' idea

Following D-Day on June 6 of that year, he was posted to the Allied headquarters in  Reims, France, and, after the German surrender, to Frankfurt. 

Graham said: “His detachment was manned around the clock by three shifts of an equal number of American and British operators.”

After further deployments to Italy, Egypt and Palestine, Mr Lewis finally made it back home for Christmas in 1946, and within a few years he had started a career with British Railways, eventually overseeing the signal and telegraph department for the southern region. 

READ MORE: Field to host HUGE carnival of music, circus, and surprises galore

Dereham Times: Mr Lewis on service in Palestine in 1946Mr Lewis on service in Palestine in 1946 (Image: Supplied)

Graham said: “During this time he also volunteered for the ‘Army Emergency Reserve’ in the railway signalling squadron, and was asked to write up a report on the requirements of a modern signalling system for future army deployments.” 

After living in several places across the country, Mr Lewis moved to Dereham in 2020, which is where Graham already lived. 

Graham said: “He now lives very happily in a room within the care home complex.”

Mr Lewis will mark his centenary on August 25.