A war veteran and avid golfer admits he was astonished to find out he had won a trophy – at the age of 101.
Archie Hemsley, from Uppingham, beat around 30 of his peers to secure the Eley Trophy at Luffenham Heath Golf Club.
Archie regularly takes on his daughter Clare at golf
Played over nine holes at the South Luffenham course, Archie had a day to remember with the putter to win the over 80s competition.
“I was astonished – I didn’t think I had!” he said.
Going into business after graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in agriculture, Archie had factories in Stamford and set up a pig farm at Honeypot Lane, on the former RAF North Witham airfield, before retirement allowed him to take up golf.
Archie is still seeking to improve his golf game
With the help of a golf buggy, Archie now plays two or three times a week, on average, often with his daughter Clare.
A notoriously difficult game to master, he is still keen to improve and has lessons with Luffenham Heath club pro Michael Farr, as well as Clare.
Among his Christmas gifts are lessons on how to improve his bunker technique, but his passion for golf is as much driven by his love of the outdoors.
“I like the exercise and the places I go to do it,” he said.
While birdies may be harder to come by than they once were, Archie maintains a keen interest in the feathered variety.
He enjoys regular ‘spotting’ visits to Eyebrook Reservoir and recalls a past trip to the Arctic circle to find breeding smews.
Golf has taken him to courses all around the UK, at one stage improving to a handicap of 14 “through a fluke”.
As well as Luffenham Heath, he also remains a member of the Royal West Norfolk Golf Club, in Brancaster, and used to hold membership at the club in Harlech, in Wales.
Archie insists he is not competitive, purely enjoying the game on its merits, although eight-handicapper Clare is not so sure.
“I have got quite a low handicap and give him two shots a hole and he invariably thrashes me. He is always trying to beat me.”
Archie’s war medals with the three medals received from Russia belowArchie received this letter in April, informing him he was to be awarded another medal from Russia
However, picking up a golf trophy in his 11th decade is not the only accolade to surprise him this year – there’s also an award sent by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
A member of the Fleet Air Arm during the war, Archie sailed on escort carriers and flew Swordfish biplanes to protect Allied shipping convoys.
Archie (right) aged around 19 with observer and rear gunnerAn illustration of the Swordfish aircraft that Archie flew during the Second World War
Tasked with spotting and deterring German U-boats, his first beat was Gibraltar before moving on to the perilous route to Russia, as the Allies looked to keep the Red Army equipped to fight the Nazi invasion.
Archie, who has called Rutland home since 1961, has now received four medals from Russia as thanks for his part in helping the country during those years.
Archie was stationed on escort carriers with the Fleet Air ArmSnow is swept from the deck of the escort carrier on which Archie would have to land
The first arrived 10 years ago for the 70th anniversary of the war’s end, while the latest – to mark 80 years – turned up in April, sent “on the instruction of the President of the Russian Federation”.
“I can’t see that it gives all that much to Russia except the hope we might think more kindly towards them,” said Archie.
As well as enemy planes to contend with during the Russian convoys, there was also the bitter cold experienced while flying in open cockpits, and stormy seas battered by winds of up to 120mph.
Among all this, Archie and his fellow pilots faced the unenviable task of landing their planes on an aircraft carrier deck which regularly had to be swept clear of snow and ice.
Remarkably, he completed 100 post-mission landings, almost half of them under the cover of darkness during Arctic winters.
“During the winter you never saw daylight and in summer you never saw the night,” he recalled.