It was a celebration of a different kind for Roy Blake after he reached his very own milestone last month.

 

Family and friends gathered at the Benlynne Park Private Nursing Home in Sunshine West on October 13 to help celebrate Roy’s 100th birthday.

 

And in true Bulldogs spirit, the birthday celebration was awash with red, white and blue.

 

Roy, a lifelong doggies fan, blew out the candles on his cake while sporting a new cap and scarf, mementos of the honorary membership awarded to him by the Western Bulldogs for his loyal support.

 

Not just content with being a beloved Bulldogs fan, Roy also pulled on his favourite strip, playing a handful of matches for Footscray’s reserves in the Victorian Football Association.

 

Roy has devoted his life to the western suburbs being involved with numerous sporting and community clubs including the RSL, Footscray Swimming Club, Kingsville (now the Yarraville Seddon Eagles) and Sunshine Football Clubs and the Footscray Harriers Club to name just a few.

 

He forged many relationships within these clubs, but it was with his late wife Coral that Roy enjoyed the happiest times of his life.

 

Describing her as “his life”, Roy and Coral were married at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Kingsville in 1928 and enjoyed 67-years together before her passing in 1995.

 

The couple enjoyed playing bowls together, their relationship enjoying championship success in tournaments around Australia.

 

Roy also devoted much of his time hairdressing, building his own shop in Station Place, Sunshine, following a career with the RAAF as a leading aircraftsman which came to an end at the close of World War II.

 

Since his retirement from hairdressing in 1970, Roy has continued to follow the Bulldogs avidly. As his sons Arthur and Noel recalled, their father was always an active supporter, waving his arms and jumping around at Bulldogs matches.

 

He may not be as active in his support now since reaching triple figures, but Roy Blake remains a Bulldog through and through.