Frank Grimes: Sheffield man turning 100 asks for unique birthday present - a new Meta Quest VR headset
Even at 100 years old nothing is slowing down Frank Grimes, who continues to stay active and develop new skills.
On Monday, December 22, Grenoside will be hosting a special event, as family gather around for the 100th birthday of local man Frank Grimes.
And for this very special birthday, Frank has asked for something rather unique for someone of his age - a Meta Quest 3S VR headset.
“I was thinking about getting one,” Frank told The Star.
“I’m not an expert or anything but my grandson has got one.
“He’s going to come down and show it to me.”
There are few things that Frank hasn’t tried at least once; picking up white water canoeing in his 60s and exploring Australia in his 80s.
As a child, he had an incredible experience of flying on a plane with a female pilot - a unique accomplishment for a woman at the time.
This vivid memory led to a love for aircrafts, and when he was 17, following the break-out of World War II, Frank joined the Air Force.
He served as an engineer, before later being transferred to the Royal Navy at the end of the fighting in Europe - though never deployed as the war officially ended by the time he completed his training.
“He came home and got married,” Frank’s daughter, Carol McCullagh, added.
“He was an absolutely fantastic father - he did loads of things with me and my sister.
“We learnt loads about photography - he bought us a science kit and made all sorts to go along with it like little racks for the test tubes.
“We did all sorts of science experiments with it, he’s an incredible bloke.”
Frank married his teenage sweetheart Connie, who he met at 15, and the couple had two children; Carol and her older sister Christine Pollard.
Connie and Frank met while both were working at the Post Office, and after the war Frank continued to build out a career there, rising to the role of ‘overseer’ at the Sheffield City Delivery Office near Fitzalan Square.
Tragically, in 2009 Connie passed away, and for 14 years Frank lived alone before moving in with his daughter Carol in 2023.
During that time, Carol says that he ‘kept up with his hobbies’.
She continued: “He was a mechanic so he sorted all his own mechanics on his car.”
Frank also turned his hand to woodworking, carrying on a life-long tradition of picking up and learning new skills.
The superager ‘does an awful lot of reading’, according to Carol, teaching himself about technology, science and other topics of interest that he never got the chance to learn at school.
“Had he lived in our age he would have definitely gone to university and become a teacher or professor,” the proud daughter said.
But what’s the secret to ageing so gracefully? Well Frank himself doesn’t seem to have that answer.
“I don’t smoke - I used to, but I stopped,” he added.
“I gave it up to buy a car when the price of cigarettes was going up. I finally said ‘if it goes up again I’ll stop smoking and buy a car’, which I did.
“And I don’t drink, but that’s only because I don’t like the taste of beer.”
The secret may be his love of life, with Carol adding that he still goes on walks when he can and always loved to swim.
Frank now has five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, and will be surrounded by loved ones at the Old Red Lion pub on Monday to celebrate his incredible birthday.
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