ONE hundred-year-old William Whitwam swears by a drop of whisky in his tea every morning.

The sprightly pensioner has been having a splash of Bell’s in his Earl Grey since he was 59 – and says it is one of the secrets to a long and healthy life.

And today the Cowlersley man will be having a special tipple as he celebrates a century with a party at Durker Roods.

Mr Whitwam said: “I always used to have a beer or two, but I was never a drinker. But every morning I have a drop of whisky in my tea – it keeps your arteries going.

“To keep my mind going I do crosswords and read and in our early retirement my wife and I used to travel all over Europe.”

Mr Whitwam – Bill to his friends – can list all the countries he and his wife Mary have travelled to.“We used to go away in March when the weather was just warming up. We’ve been all over Europe including the former Yugoslavia and France and the Côte d’Azur.

“And we’ve been to South Africa three times.”

Mr Whitwam said one of the highlights of their trips abroad was visiting Egypt and Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Last year Mr and Mrs Whitwam celebrated another milestone – their 70th wedding anniversary.

Their eyes met in a Milnsbridge sweet shop in the mid-1930s, when Mrs Whitwam was stocking up on treats for her 21st birthday party.

Mr Whitwam said: “I said to Mary ‘Can anybody come?’ and she said ‘yes’. I went that evening with a friend of mine and we were made quite welcome. We had a real party.”

Five years later the pair wed at Golcar Wesleyan Church on August 10, 1940.

They saved up to pay for their wedding and a house on Luton Street in Cowlersley where they have lived ever since.

Mr Whitwam served with the National Fire Service for several years during World War II as a fireman and driver.

Back in Huddersfield he returned to his former career in the wool trade, having worked as an apprentice spinner at BJ Whitwams in Golcar on his 14th birthday and retired at 65.

The couple have no children, but are very close to their niece Beverly Summers who they looked after when she was a child. Mr Whitwam said Beverly and her family will be joining in today’s celebrations.

He said: “I don’t feel any different to when I was 99.

“I do think it is an achievement to get to be so old especially because I’m a man. It’s usually women who live so long – not men.”