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![\"BBC](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/9a87d370-cec4-11f0-89ff-c556070aad03.png.webp.webp\")
BBC<\/p>\nBBC<\/p>\n
Mr Hemsley said he enjoys getting out in nature<\/p>\n
A war veteran said he was “very surprised” after being crowned a champion at his golf club at the age of 101.<\/p>\n
Archie Hemsley beat about 30 of his peers in an over-80s competition at Luffenham Heath Golf Club in Rutland to secure The Eley Trophy.<\/p>\n
Mr Hemsley, who served in the Fleet Air Arm during World War Two, said he had won “very few” golf competitions before.<\/p>\n
“I’m not all that keen on winning. Other people like that,” he said.<\/p>\n
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Supplied and BBC<\/p>\n
Mr Hemsley, who served in the Fleet Air Arm during World War Two, beat his peers to lift the trophy at his club<\/p>\n
Mr Hemsley returned to the sport after having his prostate removed two years earlier.<\/p>\n
He now plays several times a week at the club with his daughter Clare.<\/p>\n
He won the competition, which was played on a shortened course over nine holes, after “putting very well”.<\/p>\n
But getting out in nature means more to Mr Hemsley than simply competing.<\/p>\n
“It’s lovely seeing the birds and the bees, and exercise,” he said.<\/p>\n
“If you don’t exercise, you die, I think.”<\/p>\n
Mr Hemsley served as a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm, a branch of the Royal Navy that operated aircraft from navy ships.<\/p>\n
He was responsible for deterring submarines from attacking naval convoys in the North Atlantic.<\/p>\n
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Supplied<\/p>\n
Mr Hemsley served in the Fleet Air Arm and would often fly in hazardous weather<\/p>\n
After completing a mission, Mr Hemsley would be required to land on the deck of the aircraft carrier, often in treacherous conditions.<\/p>\n
He made 100 such landings, 40 of them at night.<\/p>\n
“I know that because I had a log book and it was recorded in it,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know anyone with more [landings].”<\/p>\n
Mr Hemsley’s heroics continue to be recognised by the Russian government, which has awarded him with medals for helping to deliver supplies to the Red Army during the Arctic convoys.<\/p>\n
His most recent medal arrived by post “on the instruction of the President of the Russian Federation” in April, although Mr Hemsley said he felt it was “publicity for the Russians”.<\/p>\n
![\"Archie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/5aa20200-ceb3-11f0-9fb5-5f3a3703a365.jpg.webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n
Mr Hemsley, 101, still plays golf several times a week<\/p>\n
Michael Farr, head professional at Luffenham Heath Golf Club, described Mr Hemsley as a “remarkable man”.<\/p>\n
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have the pleasure of coaching him a little bit over the years,” he said. <\/p>\n
“At the age of 101, to still have that drive to get better, is really impressive.<\/p>\n
“I think we all look at him going out [on the course] and think, ‘I’d like to be like Mr Hemsley when I grow up.'”<\/p>\n
Mr Hemsley credits his longevity to staying active on the golf course – and taking Omega 3.<\/p>\n
“I could manage without [golf], but it would hasten the end I think.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BBC Mr Hemsley said he enjoys getting out in nature A war veteran said he was “very surprised”…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-326665","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}