A former soldier from Felixstowe has said his final wish is to hear from the people he served with all those years ago.

Nothing made Anthony Valentine prouder than serving his country.

The 85-year-old was born in Felixstowe in 1939, and he joined up as a young cadet in the early 1960s, explained his daughter Gemma.

Mr Valentine joined the 1st East Anglian Regiment, which is today known as the 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, The Vikings.

He has also served in the Fleet Air Arm, the air force of the Royal Navy.

Anthony Valentine during his army days as a young man. Anthony Valentine during his army days as a young man. (Image: Jay Lorenz / Family of Anthony Valentine)

His duty led him all over the world. Later, he was proud to tell his six children stories from his time in the forces, from seeing Hitler’s trenches with his own eyes to being stationed at Spandau Prison during the changing of the guards.

This was a former military prison in West Berlin, with one of its most notorious inmates being Rudolf Hess, deputy Führer to Hitler.

Mr Valentine was stationed in Germany during the height of the Cold War, when Soviet Forces had divided the capital in half with the Berlin Wall.

The sights he beheld there stayed with him for life; he told his children about once seeing a child send his ball over the wire into no man’s land – and being aghast when a guard on the other side of the wall shot the child and his mother.

When he was finally ready to leave the Armed Forces, Mr Valentine entered security, delivering mail to prisons and cash from banks to local businesses. He was also a security guard for Guardwell Securities.

Now 85, Mr Valentine has been diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies, the same disease which was battled by the late Robin Williams.

His final wish, said Gemma, is to hear from his former comrades, particularly those from the 1st East Anglian Regiment.

While he appreciates that they would also be in their 80s and 90s, said Gemma, to hear from the men he served with all those years ago would mean the world to him.

Did you serve with Anthony? Contact me by emailing abygail.fossett@newsquest.co.uk to be put in touch with the family.