Barton-on-Sea resident Bob Lowe has touched hearts across the nation with his poem dedicated to late wife Kath

Hampshire widower Bob Lowe, 93, has felt great loneliness ever since partner-of-72-years Kath died three years ago after a battle with Alzheimer's.

And to express his feelings he composed a poem - Ode to Kath - while also raising awareness of loneliness to help others in similar situations.

But now people across the country are full of praise for the Barton-on-Sea resident after he shared the poem on national radio.

The couple met in 1937 but they were quickly separated when Bob was called up to serve in the Second World War.

Despite the distance they still sent each other love letters and pictures and Bob even proposed while on active service.

They wed in 1946 upon his return and went on to have two daughters and a son.

Then after six decades together Kath's memory began to fade and Bob called the doctor after she failed to recognise him one night, asking him “Where's Bob?”, an experience he described as “the bottom falling out of my world”.

Bob and Kath Lowe

He added: “I do cry quite a lot of despair, behind the word lonely is despair and grief.”

It comes as charity Independent Age and the International Longevity Centre said the number of older men living on their own is expected to increase by 65 per cent in the next 16 years.

Bob now acts as a community champion for The Silver Line, a helpline for the elderly founded by Esther Rantzen.

He wrote a letter to the TV presenter after reading a newspaper article she wrote on loneliness and included the poem dedicated to his beloved wife.

The letter said: “She (Kath) waited throughout the war for me and I for her… loneliness tell me about it.”

The Silver Line was launched last year thanks to a £5m grant from the Big Lottery Fund and has already received more than 230,000 calls from older people.

For more details call 0800 470 8090 or 0300 470 8090 from mobiles.

Bob and Kath Lowe on their wedding day in 1946

ODE TO KATH BY BOB LOWE

I am alone, now I know it's true

There was a time when we were two

Those were the days when we would chat

Doing little jobs of this and that

We'd go to the shops and select our meals

But now I'm one I know how it feels

To try and cook or have meals on wheels

The rooms are empty there's not a sound

Sometimes I'm lost and wander round

To look for jobs that I can do

To bring back the days when we were two

When darkness falls and curtains drawn

That's when I feel most forlorn

But I must be honest and tell the truth

I'm not quite alone and here's the proof

Because beside me in her chair

She quietly waits our time to share

Kath said to me some time ago

Darling when the time comes for us to go

Let's mix our ashes and be together

So we can snuggle up for ever and ever.