Century up for Lawrence

Just “great” according to Lawrence Doano, who celebrated on Tuesday with family and friends at home in Cranston Avenue.

He was visited by Town Mayor Cllr Stuart Wood and also received his official card from the Queen.

Lawrence has three sons who are Tony, Peter, and John, and a daughter Jackie, who lives in Hastings.

Jackie said: “I think he is great. He has been a great dad to me. He has always been there for me, and I think a lot of him.”

John, down for the occasion from Ambleside in the Lake District, said; “He was a good dad. He brought us up properly.”

Lawrence was born in Wales and was one of a large family.

When he left school he became a steeplejack and said he was never afraid of working at the top of high buildings.

“Put it this way, I would not like to fall down from them,” he commented.

He worked in Coventry during the war at the Bristol Aircraft company and also served as a fire warden who would check for incendiary bombs.

Afterwards he moved up to Lancashire where he and first wife Rose brought up their children.

They were married for 52 years before Rose passed away, and he has been with his second wife, also Rose, for 25 years.

They moved to Kent and then Bexhill, where Lawrence opened Vegeconomy off Sackville Road supplying prepared vegetables to hotels.

He has been in Cranston Avenue for more than 20 years with Rose and puts his long life and health down to having “a good wife”.

He told the Observer: “I feel great.

“It’s not that usual to have my family around like this but it is lovely.”