One of the last remaining Burma veterans went down to London at the weekend for the Remembrance Sunday commemorations.

James Fenton, who lives in Port Erin, is 100 years old.

He took part in the march to the cenotaph on Sunday and also attended the Festival of Remembrance in London on Saturday night.

His visit was reported in newspapers in the UK.

The trip was organised by Sheila Healey, the secretary of the Burma Star Association on the island.

Mr Fenton served with the Royal Artillery during the Second World War in a regiment often referred to as the ‘forgotten army’.

That was because the campaign in Burma was often overlooked by the media at the time and continued to remain the case for many years after war.

‘As millions celebrated VE Day in London, with Winston Churchill declaring victory, we were still being shelled,’ he recalls.

He enlisted into the Army when he was 20 and was sent to India. He served in the Royal Artillery in India, Malaysia and Burma.

An accomplished painter and poet, he would send regular letters and photographs of his experiences back home to his parents - sometimes while under attack in the trenches – but they would take three weeks to arrive.

Mr Fenton, who went on to open his own photography studio with his late wife Lilian, admits keeping many of his worst experiences from his parents.

He recalls watching one comrade drown and many of his friends suffer from malaria.

He rediscovered the letters in his parents’ home after his father died in 1980.

The letters, photos and paintings have since been compiled into a book called ‘The Forgotten Army’ featuring many of James’ creations and memoirs from the war.

Mr Fenton, who is originally from Lancashire and received his 100th birthday card from the Queen shortly before her death, said: ‘It meant so much to me to receive her letter. I have lived through five monarchs but she has been a particular mainstay throughout my life.

‘But I think King Charles is doing a fantastic job and will do this country and the veterans proud.’

He hopes ‘people will continue to remember the sacrifices that were actually made’ and said he made the journey over the weekend to pay his respects to all his friends and those who suffered the effects of war.