A former soldier from the Second World War who contributed to liberating detainees held in Nazi detention facilities is celebrating his hundredth birthday.

Cyril Morris Shorts turns 100 on Thursday, March 12. He was born in Stoke Newington and spent his childhood there with his father Abraham, mother Hetty, and younger brother Wallis.

He has called Stanmore home for the past twenty years.

During the conflict, he wore the uniform of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers and took part in Operation Infatuation during November 1944, a coordinated Allied effort designed to secure the port at Antwerp.

In April 1945, Mr Shorts’ unit was instrumental in capturing Bremen and releasing those held at Neuengamme, a network of Nazi concentration camps.

After the war concluded, Mr Shorts pursued an assortment of careers, including fur craftsmanship, which was also his father’s profession, running a delicatessen, overseeing a cleaning service, dealing in pushchairs, and finally dealing in paintings and sculptures.

Peter Tvertsin Knipschildt, Mr Shorts’ partner who shares his residence, said Cyril Morris Shorts would reach the milestone of a century on March 12, adding that one of his many sayings is tempus fugit, a Latin expression meaning time flies, and this observation certainly seems accurate.

He also noted that recollections of Mr Shorts’ lengthy existence surface increasingly often and seem as vivid as though they occurred recently.

Mr Shorts enjoyed six decades of married life with his wife Letty. The couple raised two daughters, Paula and Elizabeth.

Among his cherished animals was Eddie, a labrador whose solo expeditions to coffee shops and eateries in Stanmore earned him notoriety, where staff regularly provided him with sausages.

Peter Tvertsin Knipschildt also observed that reaching the age of 100 represents an extraordinary accomplishment, packed with numerous adventures.

He continued that Mr Shorts has observed and participated in countless pivotal historical events, and his narratives keep enhancing the lives of relatives and companions who will be honouring at the birthday celebration his remarkable passage through life.