A Royal Marine who served in World War II will mark his 100th birthday in style in Southport this weekend thanks to the huge generosity of the local community! 

Stan Woolley - 1 of 5 brothers who served during the war - will celebrate his big day with family and friends at Ivy Gate Lodge Care Home on  Scarisbrick New Road in Southport on:- Saturday, 7 March 2026. 

He will do so surrounded by hundreds of 100th birthday cards, after an appeal on Stand Up For Southport went viral. 

It came after Rave Lawson at Ivy Gate Lodge Care Home got in touch appealing for help to appeal for 100 birthday cards in honour of Stan’s 100th birthday. 

Stan’s family, and the team at the home, are very grateful to the huge love and support he has enjoyed. 

Stan has now received over 500 birthday cards from across the community with cards from as far away as Canada and New Zealand, along with some special visitors. 

Taking prime spot is Stan’s special 100th birthday card from King Charles III. 

Pupils from Year 7 at Stanley High School called in to wish him a happy birthday. 

A group of Rainbows in Southport created and sent special hand-made cards. 

Several serving Royal Marines have written to him. 

Liverpool Football Club, Southport MP Patrick Hurley, Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside Peter Oliver OBE, and Southport Royal British Legion President Serena Silcock-Prince are among others who have sent birthday cards. 

Members of the Royal Marines Association City of Liverpool have sent Stan their best wishes. 

Children from Kinder World Nursery brought Stan some lovely cards, a cute teddy bear for and even some summery flowers. The children also enjoyed some colouring-in with residents. 

Stan will be joined at his 100th birthday by his niece, Jackie Ryan, and her husband, George Ryan, who live in Formby. They said:- “We are overjoyed at the huge support and kindness from so many people. To go in and see so many birthday cards is wonderful. They’re all hanging up along the ceiling, on the walls - there are so many of them! Stan has been really enjoying reading all the cards - there are so many beautiful messages. It has given him a real boost. I think he has tired himself out reading them all! It just shows what a wonderful community we have here in Southport. We never expected to see him getting so many! People have been so kind. We are looking forward to seeing Stan and sharing his 100th birthday with him on Saturday! Hopefully he’ll have a little sleep in the morning so he’s wide awake to enjoy the celebrations in the afternoon.”

Stan has certainly lived a full life. 

He was born in Liverpool and grew up in Wavertree. 

His wife, Millicent - known to her family and friends as ‘Mickey’ - died 30 years ago. 

Stan was living independently at home in Formby until last year before he went into a care home. 

Jackie and George said:- “Stan joined up in 1940 and served in the Royal Marines during World War II. He served for part of the time on the aircraft carrier Theseus. He was 1 of 5 brothers to serve during the war. 2 of his brothers were in the Royal Air Force, and another 2 were in the British Army. Tragically, Stan’s eldest brother, Raymond, died in 1941. He was a dispatch rider and on a mission when he lost his life. 1 brother was captured by the Japanese during the fall of Hong Kong in 1941, and spent the rest of the war in Nagoya Prisoner Of War Camp in Japan. The other 2 brothers served in the RAF in Europe." 

They continued:- “After he returned home, Stan never liked to talk about his experiences in the war. He was a very private man and he never talked about those years at all. We have been finding out little bits recently as we have been coming across different documents and other things. After the end of the war he was demobbed from the armed forces and joined the Palestine Police, where he spent 2 years. When he returned to the UK he worked for Baddeley Brothers, a specialist printer of luxury stationery, envelopes and finely-crafted packaging in London, which did work for the Palace. It was a high-end publisher. From there he went on to run a Post Office in Northampton before returning to the printers, where he became Managing Director. He retired and came to live in Formby 14 years ago. We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has done so much to make Stan’s 100th birthday such a special occasion for him.” 

Rave Lawson at Ivy Gate Lodge Care Home said:- “Ivy Gate Lodge, Stan and his family are so overwhelmed with the HUGE amount of cards we have received! Initially, our project was to collect 100 cards for Stan - 6 days later, we have received nearly 500 and it isn’t even Stan’s big day yet. We are still expecting many more to come! We would like to thank the whole of the Southport community and the whole of the UK plus people in other parts of the world  including New Zealand, Canada, and many more for your true kindness towards Stan. Today Stan has also received his card from the King. This is such an amazing thing that we have done together. We have gone well over target. We are still expecting more… we can never have too many! Thank you all for making this possible.” 

You can send 100th birthday cards to Stan at:- Ivy Gate Lodge Care Home, 71 Scarisbrick New Road, Southport PR8 6LF.