A MAN who is believed to be one of the oldest surviving prisoners of war has celebrated his 99th birthday.

Harry Fridkin, of Sudbury Hill, Harrow, was born on January 12, 1914, and joined the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) during the Second World War.

He was captured by German soldiers in 1941 and sent to two different prison camps, which he endured for a total of four years, but managed to walk out alive when the Russians invaded.

On Saturday, the jovial pensioner celebrated his birthday with friends and family at the Golden Kitchen Fish Bar, in Station Road, Harrow, where he has been a customer for 35 years.

He is the borough’s oldest Neighbourhood Champion, volunteering as the eyes and ears of his road for Harrow Council and Harrow police to notify them of any low-level crime.

He said: “I like being a Neighbourhood Champion. I have been doing it for over three years. It’s a good thing for the community.”

Mr Fridkin was captured in Greece soon after he joined the RASC and was one of 10,000 soldiers to be taken to Stalag 18A in Wolfsberg, Austria. He was there for two years before the Germans moved him to a working camp in Mürzzuschlag, Austria, where he worked as an interpreter because he spoke German.

Mr Fridkin said: “I was never scared of the war. Even when I escaped, I had no fear at all. It was life – we just got on with it.”

Mr Fridkin used to trade the milk from his weekly parcel from the Red Cross with a German woman so he could listen to her radio, which proved useful when he escaped.

He explained: “Me and two other prisoners walked away from the camp when the Russians invaded.

“We managed to board a train to Munich by explaining to the German soldiers that questioned me we had joined Goebbels’ special force. I only knew about this special force through listening to that radio.”

Mr Fridkin travelled from Munich to Brussels, then was returned home to Harrow to be reunited with his wife, whom he had married a year before he had gone off to war.

He opened a hair salon in Rayners Lane and eventually ran eight salons in and around the borough.

The couple had two daughters, one of whom died of cancer. His wife died of the same disease in 1970.

Mr Fridkin is still active and enjoys golf. He regularly drives to Bushey Hall Golf Club, in Bushey, where he is an honorary member. He also enjoys playing bridge.

“I love playing golf. The secret to living a long life is to take up a sport when you retire.”

He added: “I am really looking forward to my 100th birthday next year.”

? RAF veteran Alfie Fripp, who at 100 years old was believed to be the oldest surviving and longest-serving British prisoner of war, died on January 3.