A BURNLEY war veteran is to celebrate his 90th birthday in style today.

Members of Burnley and Padiham Royal British Legion, friends and Burma veterans will be gathering to mark the landmark birthday of Ken Dawson.

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More than 100 guests are expected to turn out and celebrate with Mr Dawson, who was born and brought up in Burnley, at the Rosegrove Unity Social Club.

At the party he will unveil and present a statue of a First World War soldier called ‘The Brave British Tommy’ to the club.

“I got it last year just before Armistice Day and decided I wanted to present it to the Legion,” he said.

He trained as a welder in Burnley before joining the Army in 1943, where he fought the Japanese in Burma until the end of the war.

He then went on to serve in Malaya and Singapore until he left the Army in 1951 to return to his life in Burnley. He carried on his work as a welder and master craftsman at the now closed Joseph Lucas company in the town, married and had a family. He is a recipient of the Burma Star and has been a member of the Burma Veterans’ Association ever since he left the forces.

“Most of my family, my son, grandsons and great grandsons are in New Zealand but I’m expecting lots of friends and a few members of the Legion to come to my party,” he said.

Despite his age he still helps out in the Legion’s offices in Lindsay Street, Burnley, most mornings.

The oldest member of the 20-strong Burnley and Padiham Royal British Legion club is 93, said fellow 90-year-old Ted Davidson. “90 is a big one.

“We celebrate the other birthdays but quietly.

“I hope there will be cake.

“I like a bit of cake,” he said.

  • The Burma Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to subjects of the British Commonwealth who served in the Second World War, specifically in the Burma Campaign from 1941 to 1945.

One clasp, the Pacific Clasp, was instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon.