Monday, June 22, 2009

'Cigarettes, whisky & wild, wild women secret of my long life'

World's oldest man Henry Allingham attributes his longevity to "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women". The Brit, who has spent 113 years and 14 days on this earth, is presently living at St Dunstan's care home for blind ex-service personnel, in Ovingdean, near Brighton.

The supercentenarian, who has seen three different centuries, six monarchs, two world wars, is the last surviving founder of the Royal Air Force.

Before him, a retired Japanese engineer named Tomoji Tanabe, who had died in his sleep overnight, was the worlds oldest man.He was 113 years' and 274 days' old and had more than 50 great-grandchildren. However, unlike Allingham, Tanabe had foregone alcohol and cigarettes all his life.

A St Dunstan's spokesman said that Allingham greeted the news that he had become the oldest man on Earth by simply returning to bed after breakfast for a celebratory nap.
He reportedly dislikes taking about wars. According to the Independent, he expresses his abhorrence for conflicts by saying: "War's stupid. Nobody wins."

He said in a recent interview: "Like so many, I have tried to forget my time in the war. In the last few years I have met other veterans, and we never spoke one word of the war, not one." Regarding the key to a long and prosperous existence, Allingham says: "I don't know if there is a secret, but keeping within your capacity is vital."

Allingham was born on 6 June 1896 in Clacton, east London, and his father died when he was a baby. One-hundred-and-thirteen years later his dynasty includes six grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great-grandchildren and one great-great-great-grandchild.

The 113-year-old spent over half a century married to his first and only wife, Dorothy, with whom he tied the knot in 1919, shortly after returning from the First World War. Together they had two daughters, Jean and Betty, who emigrated to the US and both died in the 1980s.


http://www.dnaindia.com

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