Chesterfield ex-paratrooper marks 100th birthday after battling back from death three times – as family call for card from King Charles

Laurence O’Hara – known by many as Dublin O’Hara – lives in Stonegravels, where he is cared for by his daughter Kathy. On first glance, he might appear to be an unassuming gentleman – but this centenarian has lived a life that is nothing short of remarkable.

Laurence’s story starts in Dublin back in 1922. His mum tragically passed away when he was just four years old, and he went to live with his stepfather and brothers.

These early years are somewhat blurred – Laurence’s children know of three definite siblings, and are looking to trace their family tree to find out if there are any more relatives to discover.

Laurence’s stepfather could not cope with him and his siblings, and eventually, he was taken in by the Christian Brothers. Sadly, child abuse was common in institutions run by the Brothers, and Laurence remembered that he was regularly beaten during his short stay.

“They were Catholic people, and they were supposed to help you, but these ones would beat you. One of them used to have a cane and I still have scars on my back. I don’t think God made them, there was nothing Christian about them. I wasn’t stopping there, and I escaped through the kitchen window one night.”

Laurence made off from the Christian Brothers and lived rough for several years in the Irish countryside – going from farm to farm and living in barns. He never told anyone his name for fear of being taken back to the Brothers, and befriended the owners of the farms on which he hid.

At around 17-years-old, Laurence made what would become a life-changing decision – boarding a ferry to England. His children believe he arrived in Liverpool and, although his memories of this period are somewhat faded, he remembered that he was soon enlisted in the Armed Forces.

The story of how Laurence first became a paratrooper starts with an altercation, after which he was arrested by the police. He had learned to box while living in Dublin, and Laurence said he “couldn’t be beaten” when boxing in the army.

That refusal to be beaten by anything was so apparent as Laurence and his family recounted the tales of his life – but his daughter Jo Ellis said that “it got him into a lot of trouble over the years!”

Laurence was ultimately offered the choice of joining the army or going to prison. His daughters said that he thought it would be an adventure, and opted for the former.

He served as a paratrooper in the Airborne Division during the Second World War – and certainly did not seem phased by the prospect of jumping from planes into enemy territory. Laurence said: “They asked me if I would like to jump out of an aeroplane, and I said yes – I didn’t realise they were going to give me a parachute!”

Some of Laurence’s most vivid memories were of the war – which is unsurprising given the horrors he had witnessed.

He fought in Libya and Italy, before taking part in the disastrous Battle of Arnhem. Paratroopers were dropped into the Dutch city to pave the way for the rest of the British forces – who were supposed to arrive in two to three days. They met strong German resistance and were not relieved as planned, and after nine days of fierce battle, the remaining men were hastily evacuated.

Laurence was also part of a unit that liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in North-West Germany – where Anne Frank and her sister Margot died in 1945.

Laurence recalled one encounter with enemy troops as he crossed the border into Germany – shooting down five or six men. He didn’t want to glorify war, and expressed his own sadness about what had happened – but was candid about the reality for soldiers on both sides.

“Going over the border into Germany, I killed about five or six men – just shot them. I was sorry afterwards – just because they were German, I didn’t want to kill them. But they would have shot me.”

Although the war was obviously something that still weighed on Laurence’s mind, it was a decision made after the death of one of his comrades that shaped the family he has today.

Jo said: “He wouldn’t have met our mum Joan if he hadn’t been in the army. She wrote to a soldier called Tom who was alongside our dad, and he got killed.

“My dad found our mum’s name and address in his pocket, and when the war was done, he came all the way to Dronfield to tell my mum that her boyfriend had been killed next to him. He had no ties anywhere – the only contact he had was the address in his pocket.

“That was how they met, and because my grandad was Irish, he thought he was the bee’s knees – so he never left then.”

Now, the size of Laurence’s family is quite incredible – with five children, 16 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren. Indeed, he said that his greatest achievement was his family, and that after his own early life, that was what he wanted more than anything.

After the war, Laurence settled with Joan in Dronfield and he worked on the roads, helping to build new routes across the area. In another twist to the tale of his life, it was during this period, rather than his military service, that he received the last rites on two separate occasions.

Jo said: “The first time, he was driving a truck back over the Snake Pass and the brakes failed, and he went straight over the side. He was down at the bottom for a few days before anybody found him. My mum thought he was working away and the people he was working for thought he was at home. He was really poorly for a while but recovered.”

Laurence was back at work as soon as he was able – and found himself fighting for his life again when a machine he was working on burst into flames. He said: “I must have ran 100 yards before anyone caught up to me – my head was on fire.”

He suffered burns across his body and was bandaged up for an extended period – going as far as to grow a beard to cover the scars left on his face from the blaze.

There was, however, a hearty laugh when he remembered how Cathy and Jo used to steal his crutches – which were needed after he broke his legs falling into a pub cellar as the staff were taking barrels down.

In 2021, his family were again told to prepare for the worst as Laurence battled Covid. As he said himself before, he couldn’t be beaten, and against all the odds he pulled through – and celebrated his 100th birthday on November 22 this year.

When asked what the secret was to reaching this milestone, Laurence replied with the humour that punctuated our conversation, and said that everyone had forgotten to mention that he had reached 100-years-old.

“I didn’t even realise how old I was - no one told me I was 100!”

“It’s not a bad thing to be old. You just carry on, you wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night. I like a drop of whiskey now and again, not too much though, and a good pint of Guinness – I was born next door to the Guinness brewery in Dublin.”

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Laurence was in good spirits about his recent landmark birthday, but his daughter Jo said that he was frustrated not to have received a 100th birthday card from King Charles, despite his military service – courtesy of the fact that he was born in Ireland.

“He’s always said he would have liked to have his card from the King, and when we enquired why, it was because he wasn’t born in England. We just think it’s a massive injustice that he went through that, but he doesn’t get any recognition.”

Jo and the rest of the family are now pushing to ensure that Laurence gets the recognition he deserves. They also said that his medals were stolen a few years ago – and that they have struggled to get them reissued by the Ministry of Defence.

“He did get medals but we think they were stolen in a burglary where he used to live – we’ve tried a few times to get them reissued but they’ve never really given us a reason why not.”

The Derbyshire Times has contacted the Ministry of Defence and the Anniversaries Office for comment.