One of West Somerset’s oldest residents, Sid Sherring, will celebrate his 102nd birthday in June and reckons the secret to his longevity is a Whisky Mac every day!

Sid was born in the King’s Arms at Churchstanton way back in 1921 and went to the local village school.

“I never liked school very much so when I was old enough went to work in the brickyards at Bridgwater for a while and then went to work for my sister who had the Black Horse Hotel in Taunton.”

“She used to do all of the catering at Taunton Races, as well as doing the same thing at Newton Abbot and Haldon which is Exeter Racecourse now. She also did all the cricket club food and all the Flowers Shows as well. I was the dogs body and used to go around with her to help.

“My sister also had a big restaurant up on the corner by the bridge called Dellors which looked out over the River Tone where they used to do weddings .

He went on: “I can remember Taunton Racecourse before they had any restaurant or bars. Starkey Knight and Ford the brewers used to put up two big marquees in the middle of the course, one for the restaurant and one for the beer tent, a little part of which was for the directors.

“That would be back in the 1930s and I used to keep three boilers out at the back stoked up so they could heat the water for the tea. It was alright when the wind wasn’t blowing, but if it was you’d get covered in smoke and all that, and you had to keep them boiling. Then Calor gas came in and I was made redundant!

“When the war started I volunteered and joined the Royal Air Force- I went to Weston super Mare and was stationed at Locking. When we passed out I went to Penarth and got kitted out and then I was sent to Innsworth near Gloucester and they put me into the military police, which I didn’t really enjoy very much so I volunteered to join the transport section.

“I got sent to Honeybourne which is near Evesham and was there for about 12 months and then they wanted heavy transport so I went and joined that and we used to haul all of the machinery around . I went to St Annes, just up above Liverpool and had our training there and then we came back to Tilbury where we were all loaded up with plant and excavators and all that and the boat I went on was called Sampson and went out into the Solent for three days and waited.

“Then when we got the go ahead I landed at Juno Beach on the second day of the Normandy Landings and once ashore we laid Sommerfield Tracking for the fighters to take off. We used to go round repairing all the runways after they’d been bombed. I never got as far as Germany because the Russians were there long before us.

“Then when the war ended we were all sent home and I was kitted out to go to Japan - but

I didn’t go because they dropped the bomb.”

Sid went on: “Thats when I started my contracting business. My mum bought me a new Fordson Major, a plough and a cultivator and thats how I started the business off. It grew from there and then I got more work and had to have a second tractor and bought an old Case Tractor off Gliddons.

“Then one of the our sons- Douglas came on with me and we moved to the Old Mill at Bridgetown where I was for 33 years. I lived there with my wife Molly and we did very well, she started the caravan site and built that up and then we decided finally to retire. Then we moved to where we live near Williton and were only here about two years and she passed away - we were married for more than 40 years.

“The business grew and every year I used to put in 100 acres of wheat for Squire Lutterell out at Kilton Park. I only had two rubber tyred tractors and they couldn’t get onto the soil which was clay, so the squire came down and said I had to get a crawler. I said I couldn’t afford to get one so he bought me one from Major Enderby up at Wheddon Cross - it was a Marshall crawler and a plough.”

“In the winter of 1963 I had an old open bulldozer no cab - I used to put a sheet up over my head and cover my eyes and used to travel from Raleighs Cross to the Rest and Be Thankful at Wheddon Cross, and by the time I go to one end the road had covered over and I used to go back The snow as so deep that you could only just see the top of the telegraph poles.

“I had some good customers - we carried out the demolition at Donniford Camp, and any amount of contract work mostly locally and had a good business going. We helped to put down the gallops at Philip Hobbs stables as well.

“We moved from Bridgetown 37 years ago and sold the business back in 2013.”

One of Sid’s abiding passions is horse racing and he regularly attends Taunton Races where he is their oldest member, having first joined 70 years ago.

“I’m very well looked after at Taunton Races where Bob Young is very good to me and I have my own tipster Martin Higgs. I have got lots of friends there and I have used the same bookmaker - Jack Bevan - for three generations!

Sid concluded: “I cant grumble, I started off with nothing and had some rough old times - I was nearly bankrupt once, but I pulled through. Like everyone I’ve had my ups and downs but thats how it goes. I think one of the secrets to my long life is having a Whisky Mac everyday!”