NewsUK NewsPubsFrank Collins took on the family business, the Dog & Partridge in Sowood, West Yorkshire, since he was 68 and, despite turning 97 on Tuesday, he has no desire to retireCharlie Fenton and Steve Teale21:55, 23 Jun 2026Pub landlord Frank Collins has toasted his 97th ­birthday with a pint or 10 – and reckons he’s the oldest barkeeper in the country.‌Frank took on the family business aged 68 when many people are already retired. But he said: “I’ll carry on behind the bar as long as I’m enjoying it. I’m quite happy – at least I’ve always got company.”‌Frank’s dad Jack, a prominent local landlord, bought the Dog & Partridge in Sowood, West Yorkshire, in 1955. But in February 1956, a month before it was due to open, Jack died from cancer.‌Frank’s mum Mabel stepped in, keeping with the pub’s long line of landladies – Mary Lumb ran the Dog & Partridge before the Collins family. Frank helped around the bar with cellar work in the evenings.‌But when Mabel moved into a care home in 1997, the police came calling at the Dog. Frank said: “Inspector Smith said I’d have to find someone to take charge. I said he could do it, since being a police inspector was a part-time job. But he wasn’t having that, so I got the licence. That was in 1998. As far as I know I am the oldest [landlord] in the country. Someone said I might be the oldest in the world.”Before taking over, alongside helping his mum at the boozer, he was a designer in the textile industry at Pat Martin’s mill in Lindley, Huddersfield, and later as a one-man band making travel rugs and mohair throws.And he does not regret the career switch. He says: “I am quite happy with it.Article continues below“Pub life is all I have known. I used to help my dad when I was about nine. When I was 16 just at the end of the war my parents went to Bridlington for a break and left me in charge.”Two years ago, the Halifax and Calderdale branch of Camra gave him an award for outstanding service. And last Sunday, Frank celebrated his 97th with a small gathering and a large thirst, saying in anticipation: “First pint is on me – and then the next 10 are on them.”Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌Campaign for Real AlePubs