A veteran who was inspired to write a novel following his wartime experiences has celebrated his 100th birthday.

Bill Spence went on to write dozens of books and was also a columnist for the Gazette & Herald for 50 years.

He began his association with the paper shortly after the Second World War, writing reports and articles, before starting his popular book review column.

Born and brought up in Middlesborough where his father was a teacher, Bill joined the RAF after leaving school, trained in Canada and was then a Bomb Aimer flying in Lancasters with 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron from airfields in Lincolnshire. He completed a full tour of duty from RAF Spilsby, flying 36 operations and then in the mercy missions to the starving Dutch immediately after the war.

In September 1944 he had married Joan Ludley of Ampleforth and settled there after leaving the RAF. Here they brought up their four children and, in his spare time he played cricket, read books and wrote reports on village events for this paper.

Bill’s writing breakthrough came in 1958 when his first novel, Dark Hell, was published, a story based on his wartime experiences. He followed this with some 30 Westerns, published over 20 years by Robert Hale, under three different pseudonyms. Westerns came naturally to one who had grown up with cinema ‘wild west’ in Middlesborough, particularly the John Ford films and many years later he was able to visit Monument Valley, the setting of many a cowboy and Indian chase.

Once again he changed direction after visits to Whitby had brought him an interest in Whaling and he wrote a definitive history of whaling before using the knowledge acquired to write his first whaling novel.

Publishers Piatkus liked the theme but wanted it to be written by a female author and, as Bill said in many interviews, ‘You don’t say no to a publisher’, so Jessica Blair was born in 1990.

The Red Shawl became the first of 26 novels all loosely based on the North Yorkshire coast, some with a whaling background, others a war time setting, smuggling, the Alum industry, Teeside iron working, art and even emigrating to the USA, drawing together all the knowledge gained over the years.

Bill's daughter Anne, said: "His last Jessica Blair romantic saga was published when he was 95 and then he decided it was time to retire and use his computer to catalogue his vast book collection, download music and visit on line art galleries and distant lands

"Of course all this time and even for a short while after ‘retiring’ he ran a book review column for the Malton Gazette for 50 years, which he thoroughly enjoyed doing."

Bill celebrated his 100th birthday on April 20 with family and friends at the care home where he now lives.

Anne said: "We opened his presents with him and 27 birthday cards including one from King Charles, sang Happy Birthday, shared trifle we had taken and had a good laugh. The staff had been telling him all day about his 100th and impressing upon him how important he was, so he loved all the attention and generally had a good day."