Expats abroad: Graham Beaman in the Bahamas

He left in August, 1955, to work at The Balmoral Club resort in Nassau, on a three-year permit, and met his future wife Lily.

However, despite nearly six decades in the sunshine islands, he has never forgotten his Shropshire roots and has returned to Shrewsbury at least 41 times for holidays.

His daughter Heather Lowe says: "He loves Shropshire, especially the hills of Church Stretton and the countryside. He has fond memories of cycling through Shropshire and North Wales and enjoys yearly visits to friends and family."

Heather, a 52-year-old office manager, says Christmas in the Bahamas is just another hot day.

"A Christmas in the Bahamas is very different to one in Shrewsbury," she says.

"For one, my dad will be in shorts and a short sleeved shirt rather than woollies and coats.

"He has expressed the wish to see snow once again, as he has great memories of growing up in Shropshire as a child, but he dislikes the cold so not sure how we will work that one out.

"Families get together for Christmas lunch or dinner and Boxing Day is a day to relax and welcome more family members who tend to stop by."

Graham was 23 when he moved to the Bahamas, having spent 18 months in Egypt during his time in the RAF.

"He was already acclimatised to the heat, and when the opportunity came up through an aunt and uncle already working at the same hotel in the Bahamas, he wrote off for the position and got it," says Heather.

"He came here as the stores manager of an exclusive resort where the wealthy 'snow birds' of America came during the winter."

At the end of his contract at Balmoral, he set up a customs brokerage business, but shortly after was taken on by the Solomon Brothers store chain to take on its import-export activities.

During the late 1970s he moved to Freeport in Grand Bahama , after taking up the post of purchasing manager at the El Casino resort.

Graham and Lily now live with Heather in Nassau, where the medical facilities are better.

Heather says her father, who turns 83 next month, often reminisces about his time growing up in Shropshire.

"He is so proud of his heritage and loves to plan our holidays which is usually once a year," she says.

"He has an incredible memory, he can remember the bus number that would pick he and his mum up in Meole village to take them to town for their weekly shop, he can even remember what fare was paid.

"He often talks of the war years and the rationing and his good fortune of living where he did as opposed to other cities that were constantly bombed.

"His family took in two evacuee girls from Huyton in Liverpool and he often talks of walks through the countryside, teaching the girls the names of wild flowers and berries.

"He had an idyllic childhood even though most of those were spent during the war, but his love for his birth home is with him all the time. He is definitely a proud Salopian."

• Now meet the rest of our Shropshire expats celebrating Christmas abroad