Jam Community Pot in Stowmarket launches campaign to gather 300 cards for D-Day veteran Jim Grant’s 100th birthday

It's not every day you turn 100 — and residents across Suffolk are making a D-Day veteran's milestone even more memorable by sending him 300 birthday cards.

Francis Grant, known as Jim, is a well-known figure in Stowmarket, regularly attending the Monday coffee mornings at the United Reformed Church, hosted by Jam Community Pot which is dedicated to supporting elderly, isolated and vulnerable people.

Mr Grant served as a Royal Marine during World War Two, manning a gun on a Landing Craft Flak and providing covering fire for soldiers running up the beaches up until D-Day.

With his 100th birthday on Friday, December 20, Michelle Frost, co-founder of Jam Community Pot, is hoping to collect 300 birthday cards for one of the last surviving D-Day veterans.

Michelle said: “I just want Jim to be totally spoilt for his birthday.

“We’re hoping to gather a massive sack of cards for him to make it as special as possible.

“He’s a truly lovely gentleman and has been attending our coffee mornings since the very beginning.”

This year marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day, during which Mr Grant travelled to Normandy alongside King Charles and Queen Camilla to honour the more than 150,000 British, Canadian and American troops who fought on June 6, 1944.

Back home, the Jam Community Pot hosted a traditional tea dance to the delight of many coffee morning attendees — paying tribute to those who lost their lives in the war.

“I have so much respect for Jim,” Michelle said. “Although he was away this year, we still did the tea dance in his honour.”

Michelle is calling on everyone to send birthday cards for Mr Grant to the following address: Jim, C/O Jam Community Pot, 29 Ipswich Street, Stowmarket, IP14 1AH.

For those unable to post their cards, three drop-off points are available at Baldwins Department Store and The Mix, both in Ipswich Street, Stowmarket, as well as at the Bury Free Press office in Kings Road, Bury St Edmunds.

Please note that cards cannot be delivered to the United Reformed Church due to ongoing works to reduce the size of the church tower.

The cut-off date for sending and collecting cards is Monday, December 9 and Mr Grant will receive all his cards as a surprise during the last coffee morning of the year on December 16.

Michelle added: “I initially wanted this project to only include cards from Suffolk, but I realised there’s no real reason to limit it — we want to receive cards from all over the country, or even why not send one from New Zealand or somewhere like that?

“I want it to take Jim three days to open all his cards, but we need everyone’s help to make this happen.”

Further plans are under way to ensure Mr Grant has a memorable birthday, including the need of a vintage car to transport the 100-year-old to the church on December 16.

If you can assist in arranging a vehicle for the special occasion, please call Michelle on 07810 456512.