A 99-year-old Second World War veteran with a lifelong passion for singing has gone behind the mic to raise money for charity.
Charlie Pallett, who celebrates his 100th birthday next month, has recorded one of his favourite wartime songs, that still resonates today.
In a heart-warming video, the great-great-grandfather gives a rousing performance of Keep Right On To The End Of The Road.
Mr Pallett is registered blind and wears two hearing aids but this has not stopped him from smashing his target of raising £1,000 for Help for Heroes.
He told PA: “I said I would like to do that to raise money for the lads, the guys I was with in the war.
“And that’s why this started and I’m very pleased for what it has achieved.”
Mr Pallett had just got a job as a lorry driver when, on turning 18, he got a letter telling him he had been called up to Her Majesty’s Service.
During the war he served as a driver and later as a dispatch rider in the 53rd Welsh Division and 52nd Lowland Division.
His service took him to the north of Germany where he broke his ankle, before going out to Singapore.
It was while he was stationed in Maidstone, Kent, that he met his wife-to-be Madge and they married in 1943.
Now nearly 100 years old, Mr Pallett has three daughters, five grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter and lives in Shepway.
He added: “I want to raise money for wounded soldiers and their families.
“It’s important that they shouldn’t be forgotten so if I can do my bit to raise awareness and get people to donate a few pounds by singing my song, then I can’t think of a better birthday present.”
“We can’t stop watching his wonderful video which warms the cockles of our hearts. By supporting veterans and their families Charlie is helping us give them the strength they need to live the lives they deserve.”
Mr Pallett’s fundraiser can be accessed here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/charliepallett100-helpforheroes
