Person:Arthur Harbour (1)

1888 Fact File - Irving Berlin, the composer, T.S.Eliot, the poet, and John Logie Baird, the inventor of the television, were all born this year.
Ipswich Town celebrate tenth anniversay of their formation and West Brom beat Preston 2-1 in the FA Final.
Wilhelm II - the Kaiser of First World War Infamy - becomes German Emperor.
Lord Salisbury is Prime Minister and Queen Victoria is in the 51st of her 64 year reign.
County Councils are set up in Britain.
Census 1891 living at Kenninghall Rd, E Harling, Nkf.
Census 1901 living at Kenninghall Rd E Harling, Nfk. RG13 Pce 1866 Folio 76
Extract from BURY FREE PRESS Friday July 22 1994
Arthur dies, aged 106 - A Nursing home's oldest resident has died at the grand old age of 106.
Mr Arthur Harbour had been at the Risby Hall Nursing Home since January but before that had lived at North Court home for the elderly in Bury St.Edmunds.
Married three times, Arthur worked for the Post Office in Bury for many years.
During the First World War he served with the Royal Field Artillery and with the Home Guard in Bury during World War Two.
Arthur, who celebrated his birthday in January, remained very active well into old age and even rode his bicycle while in his nineties.
He leaves two daughters. His funeral will take place at Fornham All Saints parish church at 2pm on Tuesday.
Deputy matron of Risby Hall Joyce Marsh said: "He was ill for about three days, but had remained pretty fit although very deaf. He was a very affectionate and poplar person."
When my uncle died I was given some papers by his daughter Iris and have just noticed a Placement Contract dated 3 April 1994 which states that the fee per week at Risby was £320. My Uncle was paying £290 and the Council £30.
BURY FREE PRESS, Friday February 4 1994 - THE BIRTHDAY EXPERT IS 106 YEARS OLD CELEBRATING a birthday is something Arthur Harbour should be an expert at - after all he has had 106 of them. Mr Harbour, who is probably Suffolk's oldest man, was born in East Harling on January 31, 1888, in the reign of Queen Victoria.
At Risby Hall Nursing Home on Monday, a reception was held to mark his 106th birthday with pupils of Risby Primary School singing Happy Birthday.
In World War I Mr Harbour served with the Royal Artillery Horse Brigade at the Somme, then worked as a tram conductor, travelling salesman and postman.
He moved to Bury St.Edmunds before World War II and served in the Post Office Home Guard.
Married three times, Mr Harbour has two daughters, Iris in Bury and Hazel in Australia.
He was a cyclist until his 90s and moved from Norman Road, Bury, to North Court in 1983.
Whern North Court closed last year, Mr Harbour moved to Risby Hall and settled down very well, becoming known for having a hearty appetite and a smile for everyone.
The oldest man in Britain, according to the Guinnes Book of Records, is Mr William Proctor, of Merseyside, who was born on June 29, 1885.
The world's oldest living person is 118-year-old Jeanne Louise Clament, of Aries, France.
EAST ANGLIAN DAILY TIMES Tuesday February 2 1994
Arthur defies the doctors. A Man who has smoked and enjoyed beer throughout his life confounded health experts yesterday by celebrating his 106th birthday.
Arthur Harbour - believed to be the oldest man in Suffolk - was showered with gifts of chocolates and whisky at a party at Risby Hall Nursing Home, near Bury St. Edmunds.
Mr Harbour, a First World War veteran, also added to his collection of telegrams from the Queen with his third message of Royal congratulations.
The former tram conductor, postman and travelling salesman was joined at his birthday by friends and relatives, including his 90-year-old sister.
Iris Place, 73, of Gloucester Road, Bury, said her father had always been a hard worker and had started his first job at the age of 12. "As long as I can remember he's never had an illness. He didn't even seem to know what a cold or a headache was," said Mrs Place. She said Mr Harbour had "loved a pint of beer" and regularly smoked a "thick old pipe". Yesterday was his first birthday party at Risby Hall, having spent the previous 12 years at the North Court home for the elderly, in Bury.
Mr Harbour, a widower three times over and now almost completely deaf, lived for more than 50 years at Norman Road, Bury. He fought with the Royal Horse Artillery in the First World War and was a member of the Home Guard in the Second World War.
EAST ANGLIAN DAILY TIMES, Monday, February 1, 1993.
Arthur marks 105th birthday
A man believed to be the oldest in Suffolk yesterday celebrated his 105th birthday surrounded by his friends and family.
Arthur Harbour, who has lived at the North Court home for the elderly in Northgate Street, Bury St Edmunds, for 11 years, received his second telemessage from the Queen.
Chris Donlevy, North Court manager, said Mr Harbour, who has been widowed three times, is now almost completely deaf but still enjoys life.
Mr Donlevy said "It's only recently he has stopped walking unaided."
Mr Harbour, lived independently at his home in Norman Road, Bury, before coming to North Court, he said.
One of of his two daughters, the other lives in Australia, joined representatives from Her father's First World War regiment, carers, friends and St Edmundsbury Mayor Ted May to celebrate Mr Harbour's birthday.
BURY FREE PRESS, Friday January 29, 1993
A 105 salute for a grand soldier.
Former Mayor Reg Self once memorably described old soldier Arthur Harbour as "deaf as a post but happy as a lark".
Reg, and a succession of Mayors have been regular visitors to Arthur because, at nearly 105, he is reckoned to be the oldest man in Suffolk.
This year, staff at the North Court Residential Home in Bury St Edmunds will break out the champagne to celebrate Arthur's birthday on January 31. Previously, they have confined themselves to sherry.
His grand old age also means a second telegram from the Queen. He got one when he was 100, but there was no Royal massive for the next four years.
For this birthday, though, there have been discreet inquiries at county level and North Court manager Chris Donlevy says they expect the precious message to arrive.
Arthur himself will take it all in his stride. He normally confines himself to just the one drink, but he enjoys his food immensly and will, on request, burst into song.
Married and widowed three times, Arthur survived the horros of his World War I service in the Somme, where he fought with the Royal Field Artillery, and North Court has got his original Army paybook and photograph.
He's lived at North Court since 1981 but the home is due to close sometime between now and spring 1994, so Arthur will be on the move. Currently, the home has 24 permanent residents and another 10 are staying on a short-term basis.
Mr Donlevy says all the residents, including Arthur, will be given a choice of alternative accommodation.
EAST ANGLIAN DAILY TIMES, Saturday, February 1, 1992
VETERAN OF THE SOMME IS 104
A MAN who fought at the Somme in the First World War celebrated his 104th birthday yesterday with family and friends.
Mr Arthur Harbour, of Bury St.Edmonds, served as a gunner with the Royal Artillery in the First World War and with the Post Office Home Guard in the Second.
Representatives from the Royal Artillery were at the party at North Court home for the elderly, Bury, and were joined by Mr.Fearnley Jepson, Mayor of St.Edmundsbury.
Mr Chris Donlevy, manager of North Court, said "Arthur has always been a very cheery person and he takes life in moderation. He's very much a one-drink man."
Mr Harbour was born at East Harling, Norfolk, and has lived at North Court for nine years.
Between the wars he was a tram driver in London and a travelling salesman.
Mr Harbour moved to Bury just before the Second World War and was married and widowed three times.
He has two daughters by his first marriage - Iris, 71, of Bury and Hazel, who is married and lives in Australia.
NEWSPAPER CUTTING:- Fears for future care of elderly (1991)
THE MANAGER of a threatened residential home has spoken of his fears about the future of care for the elderly in west Suffolk.
Chris Donlevy, manager of North Court, in Bury St.Edmunds, says the Government's preference for car in the community is likely to end up being just as costly as residential care.
New proposals from social services chiefs call for a 30% reduction in the number of residential places in the west of the county, and an even greater cut in Bury St.Edmunds.
"Alarmingly, if you look at Bury, the proposed loss of local authority residential places will be 40%, so we are most concerned," said Mr Donlevy.
The future of North Court and two other Suffolk homes is likely to be decided at a meeting of the social services committee in February.
Mr Donlevy promised a petition protesting against the proposed closure would have attracted thousands of signatures by then.
The closure of North Court and reductions elsewhere would mean 69 residential places for the elderly being lost in Bury.
He said, "We appreciate the dilemma of the director of social services because he is required to bring residential homes up to the new standards required by the NHS and the Community Care Act and he has to find the money to do it."
"However, the degree of despondency is going to increase and the proposal to close homes will result in a huge loss of resources in the future for elderly and frail people."
Arthur Harbour, North Court's oldest resident at 103 years, is as shocked as everybody else at North Court that it is facing closure."It's marvellous here, the care you get is just marvellous," said Mr Harbour, who has lived at the Northgate Street home for the past ten years. If the home is closed, the 45 residents and 40 staff will probably start moving out towards the end of 1993.
NEWSPAPER CUTTING:- Arthur reaches his 100th - his "best birthday ever" (1998)
Bury St.Edmunds centurian Arthur Harbour yesterday described his 100th birthday as the "best ever".
Arthur who was born at East Harling, Norfolk, now lives at North Court home for the Elderly, Bury, where a celebration lunch was held.
The Mayor and Mayoress of St.Edmundsbury, Mr and Mrs John Long, presented him with sherry and he also received a bottle of whisky liqueur on behalf of Suffolk social services from Mr John Caldwell-Smith, committee chairman.
Arthur moved to North Court at 93, after living at Norman Road, Bury. As a young man he moved to East Ham, London.
He has been a tram conductor, postman and a travelling salesman. He served in the army in the 1914-18 War and the Home Guard in the 1939-45 War,
Arthur celebrated with relatives including his surviving sister Mrs Amelia Smith 84, who lives in the house her brother bought in East Ham 63 years ago for £200.
His daughters, Mrs Iris Place and Mrs Hazel Baker who flew in from Australia, were also among those there to toast Arthur.

1. ↑ Copy Short Birth Cert.
2. ↑ Baptism Parish Rcds 1893 Shire Hall Norwich.
3. ↑ Victory and/or British War Medals 1919 PRO Kew.

   WO/329/280 Roll of individuals entitled to Medals - 163 Heavy Battery - Royal Garrison Artillery.
   1901 Census Farm Labourer General.

4. ↑ Tram Driver and Travelling Salesman - Oral.