SMART in his Royal Navy uniform, 18-year-old Joseph Fred Dickinson and his comrades aboard HMS Warrior were gathered together and told some solemn, welcoming words.

"They said, 'the war is over,' and, oh,we rejoiced, just rejoiced."

For Mr Dickinson, one of the last men in the North-East to join up for the First World War, it is as if that moment in Portsmouth 85 years ago was only yesterday.

And for the 104-year-old, from Hartlepool, who still drinks a glass of beer and smokes 20 cigarettes every day, there was a strange kind of regret that he never actually saw active service.

"I did nine months training after getting into uniform and by the time I was on The Warrior - I was a torpedo man - the whole thing was over," he said. "I was a bit disappointed at the time, you think that way when you are that young."

Mr Dickinson, who is too frail to attend remembrance services, recalled the memories of his friends who went to fight the Germans in the Great War but did not return.

Too old for active service in the Second World War, he was one of the often forgotten heroes of the Home Front and became the head of civil defence in Hartlepool, co-ordinating blackouts. He became so knowledgeable he would deliver lectures across the North-East and his expertise continued into the post-war crisis of the Cold War. Once again he was called in to advise the authorities, this time about what to do in the event of a nuclear attack.

He was awarded an MBE by the Queen for his work defending the nation from invading forces.