ONE of the last soldiers to leave the Dunkirk beaches has celebrated his 100th birthday.

Dennis Harrison, from Burford, marked the big occasion on August 5 with his children, friends, relatives and a card from the Queen.

The great-grandfather-of-two was born in Brighton in 1917, during the First World War, and was the second eldest of five children.

Mr Harrison experienced a 'disrupted' childhood during the war years but, after the conflict ended, the family settled in Lincolnshire where his father was the local GP.

The grandfather-of-three fought in the Second World War and was subsequently awarded the Légion d’Honneur medal by the French government for helping to liberate the country during the war.

Following his stint in the Army, Mr Harrison worked as a lawyer for a variety of local authorities and ended his career as chairman of South Buckinghamshire District Council.

Mr Harrison has been married twice, most recently to Ann Manley, and the pair travelled the world together painting and displaying their work at West Oxfordshire Arts gallery in Bampton, where they first met.

The couple travelled to Venice, France, Greece and around the UK to paint their watercolours after meeting when Mr Harrison took a painting class taught by Mrs Manley.

In 2012 they held an exhibition at West Oxfordshire Arts, which featured 90 pictures which were painted at the location.

They said the aim was to 'capture the moment' and the feeling of their subjects at that moment in time.