A centenarian had to wait longer than most for his 15 minutes of fame as he took his TV bow in the month he turned 105.
Fred Cuddeford, of Draper Close, Isleworth, last Tuesday (October 21) received another birthday card from the Queen and celebrated with parties at home on the day itself and at Acton Deaf Club the following day.
The previous week he appeared on the Community Channel in the first episode of World War II: Unheard Memories, a documentary produced by British Sign Language about the experiences of deaf people during the conflict.
Fred was the youngest of eight children and grew up in Fulham, where, aged just five, he was trampled by a horse and cart while playing in the street and lost his hearing.
Something good did come out of the tragic accident, as it was at Acton Deaf Club, in Armstrong Road, that he met his first wife Mabel Hubbard, whom he married in October 1937.
They moved to Isleworth and had two children together, the youngest of whom, Bobbie, sadly died in 1953, aged just 10.
Fred's favourite pursuits were motoring and his model train set, which began as his son Freddie's but rapidly expanded to take over the family's whole garage.
He had various jobs but spent the last three decades of his working life at the launderette Spring Grove Services, in Spring Grove Road, Osterley.
Mabel died in 1973 and five years later Fred married Eleanor Pusey, known as Lois, who died in 2009, a few months before Fred reached his century.
His surviving son Freddie, 73, with whom he now lives, said the secret to his dad's longevity was the small tot of whiskey and can of Guinness he still enjoys every weekend.
