The 99-year-old retired Collie farmer will turn 100 on Sunday and he said he could not be happier.

Born into a true blue farming family on the Bogan River in 1915, Mr Perry grew up with a love of the land and merino sheep.

In 1940, he joined the Air Force and served in World War II as a bomber pilot.

Mr Perry had trained thinking he was going to become a fighter pilot, but when he got to England his eyesight test revealed him to have "exceptional" night vision, so he was diverted to the bombers.

After being posted to the 115 Squadron based at Marham in Norfolk, February 1941, Mr Perry's 18 month stint at war saw him fly 37 raids over enemy territory.

He never lost a plane or a crewman.

Mr Perry attributed his incredible 37 sortie survival to the early training he received in Mascot, Sydney, where he learnt to fly on Tiger Moths and Wirraway trainers.

But he did have one close call.

Mr Perry said he recalled a flight back to England over the Baltic Sea, where he told the crew to put on autopilot and enjoy a cup of tea and a sandwich.

"Next thing we knew, we were being shot at from underneath, which was unexpected because we thought we were over seas," Mr Perry said.

It was not until Mr Perry closely studied a map after the encounter, that he saw they had flown over a little island controlled by Germany.

"I didn't even know it existed," he said.

"They certainly interrupted our cup of tea."

When he returned from the war, Mr Perry married his pre-war sweetheart, Sybil Coward, in 1945.

The love birds then welcomed three additions to the nest; Andrew, Phillip and Julia.

The Perrys settled on the 7200-hectare property, Merrigal, at Collie, which his father had purchased in 1937.

Mr Perry spent 50 years working merino sheep at Merrgial, before handing over the reigns to Andrew and retiring to Dubbo in 1995.

In 2012, Mr Perry had an emotion-charged trip to England, where he flew as one of a contingent of about 40 surviving Australian airmen who served with the Bomber Command.

He was accompanied by son, Andrew, and daughter, Julia, to the dedication of a long-overdue memorial by Queen Elizabeth II.

Now, a spirited resident at the Dubbo RSL retirement village, Mr Perry has drifted between local sporting teams.

He is currently a member at the Dubbo Macquarie Bowling Club.

"First I played tennis, then I got too old for that, so I moved to golf, then bowls," he said.

"Next it will probably be marbles."