Golding Homes Resident celebrates 100th birthday
As sprightly Golding Homes resident Alan Bradley celebrated his centenary this week, he said the secret to living a long and healthy life was being in the outdoors, having spent much of his working life as a farmer.
Gary Clark, Golding Chief Executive visited Hardwick House in Northumberland Road, Shepway on Wednesday where Alan was enjoying a birthday lunch with family and friends to commemorate his milestone birthday.
Presenting Alan with a gift of flowers and a card, Gary said: “It was great to have been able to celebrate Alan’s 100th birthday with him. He is an amazing man with an exceptional life story, and I felt really honoured to have met him”.
Born on 26 September 1918 to parents Charles and Elsie, Alan grew up on Roseacre Farm in Bearsted with his three brothers.
After leaving Maidstone Grammar School and Maidstone Commercial School, Alan worked at a tailors in Maidstone but realising his passion for farming left to work with his father on the family farms.
When war broke out in 1939 Alan was keen to enlist but his father insisted he remain on the farm, as at the time a farmer fell into the category of "a reserved occupation".
When the farm was eventually sold in 1958, Alan found new employment as a Site Manager for Fullers Earth extraction at the Landway area in Bearsted for the St Albans Sand and Gravel Company, until the site closed 10 years later. At the time Alan had the chance to move to St Albans but decided to remain in Kent to look after his widowed mother until she passed away.
He soon found work with Kent County Council Highways Department where he remained until his retirement in 1983.
Cardale Bradley, Alan’s nephew said: “Alan has always been good company, is very knowledgeable and a very kind and generous man. He is a real gentleman.”
Alan has been a resident of Hardwick House since 2012 when he moved from the Park Wood area of Maidstone. Hardwick House is one of Golding Homes’ sheltered schemes and provides accommodation for residents who wish to live independently within a safe and secure environment. A new service called OPAL was recently set up by Golding Homes to provide enhanced housing support to residents living in its schemes. For more information about the service visit our OPAL page.