Veteran is the first person on the dance floor at the reopening of the nightclub where he first met his wife
RAF veteran, 95, is first person on the dance floor at the reopening of Newark nightclub where he first met his late wife in 1949
This is the heartwarming moment when an RAF veteran took to the dance floor at the reopening of the nightclub where he met his late wife 74 years ago.
Kevin Topham, from Edingley, Nottinghamshire, first saw his future wife Molly in 1949 at Newark’s Corn Exchange – now called Club X.
The couple tied the knot three years later and were married for 66 years, until Moly sadly passed away in 2018.
In recent years, Donna Harvey – who is Kevin’s caretaker – explained how the veteran reminisced about his fond memories at the club when they drove by to go to doctor’s appointments or visit family.
After discovering the club was reopening for the first time in 10 years, Donna shared BBC news how she asked the owners if she could take Kevin for an opening night dance.
Pictured: Donna Harvey and Kevin Topham were allowed access to Club X in Newark an hour before it opened to the public last weekend
At first, Donna said she tried to warn Kevin that the club wouldn’t look like he remembered it, but he insisted on seeing it for himself.
Over the weekend, Donna and Kevin were the first visitors to take to the dance floor on opening night – with Glenn Miller’s RAF veteran Chattanooga choosing Choo Choo as their song.
Donna said, “It was just so humbling and it melted my heart, because it made him happy. He doesn’t talk about it.’
For the occasion Kevin donned his best suit, RAF tie and proudly displayed his medals.
Kevin described feeling “a little sentimental” when he returned to the Corn Exchange and said the new staff members made him feel “very welcome.”
Plus, the retiree joked that he would occasionally end up on the dance floor with three potential partners in the 1940s — and he once had to flip a coin to choose one.
Donna added, “Kevin told me, ‘I used to go there and all the Americans would come pinch our women, and there would be a fight”.
After re-watching the video of Kevin dancing, his daughter Karen Mason said she felt “quite emotional” seeing him back at the spot where he met her mother.
The RAF veteran chose Glenn Miller’s Chattanooga Choo Choo as the song he wanted to dance to with Donna
Kevin met his wife of 66 years Molly at the Corn Exchange in 1949. In recent years, Donna Harvey – who is Kevin’s caretaker – explained how the veteran reminisced about happy memories at the club when they drove by to go to doctor’s appointments or visit relatives
Kevin told the publication that he joined the RAF when he was just 17 years old because he was ‘fed up’ with the Germans bombing Newark.
After meeting Kevin, the owners of Club X said they will now hold a regular event for older generations.
Club X manager Amy Smith said: ‘Meeting Kevin and hearing the stories and memories of his teenage experiences in the venue certainly brought a tear to the eyes of our team, who were lucky enough to have him on Saturday to meet.’
Donna then posted highlights of their evening on Facebook, where it struck a chord with the locals.
One wrote: ‘Aww that is so beautiful.’ Another gushed, “How wonderful, all his memories must have come back to him!”
The Veteran’s Foundation later tweeted: ’95-year-old RAF veteran Kevin Topham made an inspiring return to Club X in Newark!
“Kevin had a brilliant idea to visit the historic venue where he went dancing in the 1940s, proving that age is just a number and it’s never too late.”