SELF-TAUGHT harmonica player Phil Irving is to retire after decades of entertaining audiences in the Ryedale and York areas.

Phil, a Second World War hero, started playing the instrument when he was just eight years old, joining the craze in his school for buying a harmonica for 6d.

While the novelty wore off for most of his fellow pupils, he persevered and became a self-taught expert, and played with a couple of friends in a make-shift band in his father's garage.

Eventually, Phil, who lives at Crambeck, near Malton, was to join the Ted Levitt Show Band in York and played within it for 20 years.

"I clearly remember my audition," says Phil, now 79. "I answered an advertisement that the band was looking for a harmonica player and Ted gave me a job when he heard me play Raindrops Are Falling On My Head down the phone."

Phil continued to play in his retirement, after being proprietor for 23 years of Hill's Boatyard in York.

He has given scores of concerts at the Rowntree Theatre in York and many venues in Ryedale, all for no payment.

But his efforts have been rewarded with donations to St Catherine's Hospice at Scarborough.

Phil set up in business in a cycle shop in Bootham, York, then later ran Shannon's cycle shop in Boroughbridge Road, York, for 15 years.

As well as playing the harmonica, he gives monologues and tells jokes to his audiences.

But now he says he has decided to retire from the entertainment world.

Suzuki gave him a top-of-the-range harmonica after hearing of his charity concerts.

While he is well known as an entertainer, it was the Second World War which had a big impact on his life.

He served in the RAF as a rear gunner, becoming a flight sergeant at just 19 and was founder of the York branch of the Air Gunners' Association.

The bravery of the young volunteer saw him play a key part in what became known as Operation Manna when, between April 29 and May 8, 1945, Lancaster aircraft dropped a massive 28m pounds of food to starving people in Nazi-occupied western Holland.

The Germans reluctantly agreed to a five-minute truce for each of the eight days to enable the food parcels to be dropped in a joint operation between the British and ther Americans, says Phil.

"They were so hungry they were even stewing tulip bulbs to eat," he recalls. "We were able to drop food parcels consisting of flour, cocoa, powdered eggs, beans, sugar and cereals from heights of just 50ft."

The gratitude of the Dutch has seen him make many visits to Holland where he has many friends and on one occasion met Prince Bernhard during an anniversary reunion.

His home is adorned with memorabilia of Operation Manna and photographs of the brave food drops.

Today he enjoys pursuing his hobbies of cooking and housekeeping. His wife Christine is well known in Malton as a volunteer helper at the St Catherine's Hospice shop.

Updated: 11:47 Wednesday, December 17, 2003