Warrant Officer Class 2 Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the most ...

Colin Thackery (born 9 March 1930) is a British

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

veteran and singer who won the thirteenth series of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

'' in June 2019. As the winner, he received £250,000 and performed at the 2019

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

.''ITV News''. Pensioner Colin Thackery wins Britain's Got Talent
/ref> At 89, he became the oldest ever winner of the talent show. ''BBC News website''. Britain's Got Talent: Colin Thackery crowned winner
/ref>

Career

Thackery served in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

of the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, and saw service in Malaya and the

.''Royal Hospital Chelsea website''. Colin's story
/ref> His medals represent this service, the General Service Medal with clasp ''Malaya''; the

Korea Medal The Korea Medal (french: Médaille de Corée), sometimes referred to as the Queen's Korea Medal to distinguish it from the United Nations Service Medal, is a campaign medal created in 1951 to recognize troops from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, ...

and the

United Nations Korea Medal The United Nations Service Medal for Korea (UNKM) is an international military decoration established by the United Nations on December 12, 1950 as the United Nations Service Medal. The decoration was the first international award ever created by t ...

. In 2019, Thackery won

. At 89, he became the oldest ever winner of the talent show. He released an album, signing to

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

, alongside a tour across the UK. In 2022, Thackery returned to the stage to perform a special medley for the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Platinum Jubilee A platinum jubilee is a celebration held to mark an anniversary. Among monarchies, it usually refers to a 70th anniversary. The most recent monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee is Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the other Co ...

Personal life

Thackery performed on an amateur basis throughout his life. As a boy, he sang in the church choir. In the Army, he took part in concerts on his troop ship on the way to Korea and, once there, was recruited to entertain the troops during a lull in the fighting. He also sang in a forces club when posted in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. After retiring from the Army he joined a local operatic society. A

Chelsea Pensioner A Chelsea Pensioner, or In-Pensioner, is a resident at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a retirement home and nursing home for former members of the British Army located in Chelsea, London. The Royal Hospital Chelsea is home to 300 retired British sold ...

, he lives in the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse, the ancient sense of the word "hospital", it is a site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea. It is an ...

, where he moved after the death of his wife Joan in 2016, after 66 years of marriage.

Discography

Albums

Honours

United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon

References

External links

Britain's Got Talent websiteRoyal Hospital Chelsea website
1930 births Britain's Got Talent winners Living people Royal Artillery soldiers Chelsea Pensioners British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency British Army personnel of the Korean War {{UK-singer-stub