'I'm just a late bloomer': Britain's oldest student graduates with a degree in military intelligence aged 91

Bertie Gladwin left school aged 14 with no interest in academia after he was put in the low ability class by teachers

Today his has a total of three degrees and is even considering doing a PhD

He says that his time at university has helped him understand young people and hopes he showed them that 'old people aren't too bad either'

Students at the University of Buckingham may not have noticed Bertie Gladwin all that much while he was studying for a masters degree in military intelligence.

He wasn't there at freshers' week and he probably didn't indulge in many raucous nights out or beer-fueled bar crawls.

But nevertheless Britain's oldest student has proved that it's better late than never.

Mr Gladwin, who left school at 14 with no interest in academia, has now graduated aged 91 with a distinction in a Masters degree after a career in the secret service.

Rather than studying at home, the energetic pensioner packed his bag and headed into lectures and seminars with the rest of the post-grad students, who were all in their early 20s.

Britain's oldest graduate Bertie Gladwin is pictured here proudly holding his masters degree in military intelligence

Relaxed: Mr Gladwin is delighted to have received his third degree and is looking forward to spending some time at home with wife Wendy

Like any other student, the Mr Gladwin turned up late for his first lecture and got lost in the maze of corridors at university.



The World War Two veteran was also confused by computers, which he had never used before he retied in 1987, and regularly deleted whole essays by mistake.



But while he struggled with some aspects of modern learning, the senior student had no problem getting to grips with his degree - after two decades working through the intelligence history he was studying.

As a determined youngster Mr Gladwin rose from his first job as a grocery delivery boy to become a radio communications engineer with the Foreign Office and secret service.

As soon as he spotted the degree Mr Gladwin - who still sends Morse Code messages to friends across the world - knew it was perfect for him.

Impressively, his masters is the third degree he has bagged since retiring 25 years go, after he completing a BA in Psychology and a BSc in Microbiology through the Open University.



The graduate, of Milton Keynes, Bucks, admitted today that he was a 'late bloomer' and revealed he was even considering tackling on a PhD.

Mr Gladwin said: 'Most of what we handled isn't secret anymore of course, in fact I had to study some of it for my Masters.

Mr Gladwin didn't attend freshers' week or any raucous parties - but like many students he was late for his first lecture

'It was a strange feeling to be reading about history in a textbook that you lived through yourself.



'When I started I was worried about being up to the challenge but once I got

there I realised I could have been the most qualified person ever to do that

course.'



He added: 'At the start of the course I have to admit I was a little embarrassed at first, I didn't know what would be expected of me.

'On the first day I couldn't find the class so I was around 20 minutes late and had to creep in the back of the room



'You are never too old to learn, it's a pleasure to be able to carry on learning through your life and makes the experience all the more enjoyable.



'Of course our memories aren't as good as they once were but you can still keep up and participate.



'I found that my humour hadn't changed that much, even if I did seem a bit old - fashioned compared to my friends we had a lot of laughs.'

Workaholic: Mr Gladwin has obtained three degrees in later life. He admits to struggling with new technology and told how he deleted many of his essays by mistake

Veteran: Mr Gladwin shows off his war time radio. The history student lived through many of the events that he studied

'Going to university changed my whole attitude towards young people and I hope maybe I have shown them old people aren't too bad either.'



Mr Gladwin graduated in March this year - just before his birthday, aged 90 - and was proudly watched by his wife Wendy, 79, who encouraged him to try university despite not even having A-levels.

Most of Mr Gladwin's essays were inspired by the two decades working at Hanslope Park, Bucks, which famously became the successor to Bletchley Park for British Intelligence.

He completed his final thesis on the role of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in France during the Second World War, and gained a distinction.



His proud graduation came after he started earned just 14 shillings a week (60p) when in his first job delivering groceries in Dulwich, London.

Mr Gladwin and his wife Wendy share a joke together as they collect their degrees on graduation day

Mr Gladwin getting his first degree, a B.A in psychology in 1985 (left), and his second degree, a B.S.C in Molecular Biology in 1988 (right)



He later switched to work as a barrister's clerk before signing up for the RAF aged 19, to fight in World War Two.

Mr Gladwin, who had been interested in radios since he was nine, was assigned to the Signallers and dispatched to the Middle East for the remainder of the war.



While he was posted in the desert he stumbled across the complete works of Freud in a military camp library and his 60 year interest in psychology.

When Mr Gladwin returned to Britain he became a flight radio officer on commercial planes, before being signed up by the Foreign Office to maintain MI6 communication links across the world.

Wartime: Mr Gladwin, aged 20, is pictured (right) with a friend after joining the RAF Signals during the war

Younger: Mr and Mrs Gladwin on their wedding day in 1975 around the time he worked as a communications officer at Hanslope Park

Handsome: Mr Gladwin as a radio officer for a commercial airline after the war

He said: 'When I retired I became less active and thought that going back to my studies would delay the onset of senility.



'I wanted to keep my brain active and learn more about something that had always interested me.'



Mr Gladwin completed his first degree, a BA in psychology from the Open University in his mid sixties and followed it up with a BSc in Molecular biology which he finished in just two years, as he turned 70.



He took the British record for senior studying from the previous 89-year-old title holder.



The current world record is currently held by a 96-year-old philosophy graduate from China.

Happy: Mr Gladwin when he worked for Marconi just after the war

Mr Gladwin in his early 20s with the RAF Signals in the Middle East during the war









