BETWEEN them they have clocked up 105 years and counting.

And stalwart Southampton General Hospital volunteers Reg Lowman and Karla Gunn show no signs of stopping.

Reg, 82, who was honoured with an MBE in 2000, is still working as a volunteer for the hospital’s League of Friends after 55 years, while Karla has been a volunteer for a decade on the neurological ward where she worked for 40 years.

Reg, of Bitterne Park, Southampton, said: “It gives you a purpose in life and it’s a reason for getting up in the morning.”

Reg had already spent 25 years fundraising for the group when he retired from his day job at British American Tobacco.

He then had more time to work in the shop that he remembers originally being in a temporary building on land where other hospital buildings now stand. He served as chairman of the group for 27 years and still works in the busy shop, now by the main entrance, twice a week.

Karla moved to Southampton from Germany to be with her future husband Terry. She started work at the hospital as a domestic in 1951 and had a break for ten years before returning to complete a total of 40 years.

But when she retired ten years ago she was so upset she decided to stay on as a volunteer twice a week. Karla, 80, said: “I really love that job. It helps a lot, as it gets me out of the house. It’s an honour.”

Reg and Karla were among dozens of volunteers honoured at Southampton University Hospitals Trust’s voluntary services awards yesterday.

Volunteers with service ranging from three years to Reg’s 55 were presented with awards by Southampton mayor Councillor Terry Matthews in the hospital chapel. Others honoured included Anne King with 30 years, Alan Jenkins with 35 years and Marie Fielder with 40 years.