A MASTER stonemason who served in the Second World War and dodged bombs as well as mangoes hurled by angry baboons, celebrates his 100th birthday today.

Ronald Packer looked back on decades filled with memorable moments ahead of his centenary celebrations.

He recalled rolling a 500-pound live bomb off a runway after it dislodged from a landing bomber, and laughed when remembering Burmese villagers’ way of picking out-of-reach fruit.

Ron added: “We lent the men our generator so in return, they showed us a clever trick.The treetops were full of baboons eating mangoes.

“The men laughed at them, we heard the baboons snarling and they suddenly threw the mangoes at us. We caught them and took them back to camp, they were delicious.

“We were just behind the front line and moved into RAF Tongah just after the army cleared the area.

“It was impossible to see the tanks from the air, so we had to look out for gun flashes and point them out to the Thunderbolts.

“Being in Burma was the worst thing I’d experienced because our supplies were very limited. It was very hot and we only had enough vouchers for one water bottle a day.”

The son of a Great Western Railway engineer, Ron tried to follow in his father’s footsteps before deciding to start a five-year apprenticeship at Bartlett Brothers on Bath Road in 1935.

He volunteered for the RAF after a stretch on the Home Guard, joined Bomber Command in 1940 and met his late wife Mary, marrying her before being posted abroad to Burma.

Corporal Ron spoke to an Adver reporter in 1945 about how he built a cinema in an aircraft hanger in the middle of the jungle.

Back in Swindon, he started a greengrocers before buying Bartlett Brothers when the owners retired and becoming a master stonemason. He retired after selling the business 30 years later

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He continued with the odd bit of masonry right up until his 80s, even building the stonework of a bathroom extension for daughter Nicky.

Having reached triple digits, Ron revealed his strength and fitness has helped him live a long and healthy life. “I was in hospital once and heard one of the doctors say he was worried about me and another said don’t worry, he has strong bones.

“I think strong bones are the secret to a long life, along with a varied diet. I’ve never broken any bones, but had countless stitches.”

Daughter Shan chuckled while remembering Ron visiting a gym at 85 to see how much he could still weight-lift as astonished younger bodybuilders looked on.