A bowling club has celebrated its opening day with its oldest member - and new president - taking the lead.
Soon to be one hundred-year-old Frederick Joseph Walter Kemish, affectionately known as Wally, was centre stage at the Woolston and District Bowling Club's event on Saturday, April 19.
Born on April 24, 1925, Wally has been part of the club since 1965 and is known for his enduring commitment to the sport and the community.
He will be turning 100 years old on Thursday, and is understood to be the oldest club president in English bowls history.
Wally said: "I will be 100 years old on Thursday. They checked, and there's no other 100-year-old president; I will be the first ever.
"I feel good about it. I feel like I am really something for the 60 years I have been here, socially and bowling. It is definitely an honour."
To mark the occasion, it is understood that Premier League star Matt Le Tissier, Dave Merrington, and former FA Cup winner David Peach also attended.
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Wally, who was born in Southampton and grew up on the edge of the Common, began bowling in the early 1960s.
In his youth, he joined the Home Guard Unit during WWII and took his first aeroplane ride abroad at the age of 90 for a holiday in Canada.
Wally now has seven grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and one great-great-granddaughter.
Over the years, Wally has won nearly all the major competitions at the club, achieved the Green Medal in 1980, and first became president in 2018.
Scott Campbell, organiser of the event, said: "We are ever so grateful he accepted to become president. He is down here most Friday nights playing dominoes and having ales.
"He is adored by everybody, and we are lucky to have him."
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The charity the club will be supporting this year is The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, as chosen by Wally. They were also in attendance at the opening day with three dogs.
The Woolston and District Bowling Club, located on Temple Road, is well over a century old.
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