A former sailor is to shave off his beard for the first time in 40 years to raise money in memory of his wife.

Richard Keeling, 87, from Rochester, is joining Macmillan’s Brave the Shave campaign.

He met his wife Betty through a mutual friend and they were married for 52 years before she died of cancer in 2005.

Mr Keeling said: “I’ve got a couple of relatives, friends and acquaintances who have cancer, or are recovering from cancer, so they are beneficiaries of Macmillan services. Betty died of cancer at the Wisdom Hospice.”

Macmillan supports cancer sufferers and their families.

Mr Keeling joined the Navy in 1944, and was posted to HMS Kenya, where he grew his first beard.

He said: "You had to see the captain for his permission. I didn’t shave it off until the morning of my wedding."

Mr Keeling was married at St Nicholas Church, Strood, in March 1953, “to get a tax rebate”, he joked. He then served on HMS Loch Lomond in the Persian Gulf and grew his second beard.

“I let it run amok,” he said. “I went to a parade at Chatham barracks and no one knew I wasn’t wearing a tie because my beard hid my shirt.

"When we were on the ship everyone who grew a beard had to put a pound in the kitty and the last one to shave it off got the money. I won £25. I shaved it off afterwards. Then I decided to grow another one and I’ve had it for around 40 years."

Mr Keeling left the Navy in 1959 and worked at Grain Power Station until he was made redundant in 1984.

He is a keen gardener and had an allotment in Rochester for many years and still grows tomatoes, beans and sweet peas on the balcony of his flat.

Mr Keeling wants to raise £500 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Both his beard, and his hair, will be shaved off at the Eagle Tavern in Rochester High Street at 5pm today, by Costa from Hairstyle Avenue in Rochester.