The world oldest living manJohn Alfred Tinniswood (born August 26, 1912), is 112 years old.
He is celebrating this occasion with his family and friends at his nursing home in Southport, England.
We recently caught up with him to find out how he’s been doing since becoming the world’s oldest man earlier this year.
“To be honest, it didn’t affect me in any way,” John admitted. “Personally, it means nothing to me.”
When asked how it feels to turn 112, he replied: “Honestly, no different. I don’t feel this age, I’m not happy about it. That’s probably why I’ve reached it. I just accept it calmly, like everything else.”
“I can’t think of any special secrets. I was pretty active as a youngster; I ran a lot. But to me, I’m no different (than anyone else). Not different at all.”
In the same year, John was born, who Titanic sank, Arizona became a US state, and the 268-year rule of the Chinese Qing Dynasty came to an end.
He has lived through an incredible number of technological advances, not to mention countless wars – in fact, he is the world’s oldest living male WWII veteran and served in the Royal Army Pay Corps. As well as managing finances, his work also included searching for stranded soldiers and organising food supplies.
He chuckled when asked how the world had changed during his lifetime and replied, “In my opinion, it is no better or hardly better than it was then. In some places it probably is, but in other places it is worse.”
“The world has become smaller due to modern travel, especially by plane.
“But since then I can’t think of anything that has changed the world significantly. That’s just my opinion. Otherwise it’s stayed pretty much the same.”
Apart from eating a portion of fish and chips every Friday, John follows no particular diet and his main advice for healthy living is to practice moderation.
He performs many of his daily tasks without help, including getting up and going to bed, but he also manages his own finances and listens to world politics on the radio.
Mentally, he feels much younger than he is, and when asked if his active brain was the reason for his long life, he laughed and replied: “I’m not 112 years old. Well, I’m getting on in years, aren’t I?”
John described what he thinks the world will look like in another 112 years: “Oh my God! Well, I would like to call for more honesty between the different countries. They all, including our own, put on a little show now and then.”
John enjoyed 44 years of marriage to his wife Blodwen, who died in 1986.
The couple had a daughter, Susan, who gave them four grandchildren, and John now has three great-grandchildren.
John’s other lifelong love is Liverpool FC, founded just 20 years before he was born. He has witnessed all eight of the club’s FA Cup victories and 17 of its 19 league titles.
“Most people saw Liverpool as the football team,” he said. “Everton were seen as the smaller team – very nice, mind you – but Liverpool Football Club was seen as the football club.”
After his 100th birthday, John received a birthday card every year from the late Queen Elizabeth II, who was almost 14 years younger than John.
He is the fourth oldest Briton in history. In two months he will overtake Bob Weighton and in 13 months he will take the top spot held by Henry Allingham (1896-2009).
Become the world’s oldest man of all time is a more distant prospect, as the title belonged to the Japanese Jiroemon Kimura (1897-2013), who lived to be 116 years old.
The title of oldest living woman – And oldest living person The overall victory recently went to 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka (Japan) after 117-year-old Maria Branyas Morera died.
The oldest person of all time With fully authenticated age information, it is a woman named Jeanne Calment (1875-1997) from France, who reached the astonishing age of 122.
Photos by Ian Briscoe
