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06 June 2008

What a remarkable man. →[More:]

Britain's oldest man, thought to be one of three surviving UK World War I veterans, has celebrated his 112th birthday with a VIP lunch and fly-past.

Henry Allingham is also the last surviving original member of the Royal Air Force - formed 90 years ago.

and

He has joked that the secret to his longevity is "cigarettes, whisky and wild women".

post by: essexjan at: 10:21 | 5 comments

Wow - he's earned quite a collection of medals!

One of my favorite Tonight show memories is when the guest was a very old Native American man who appeared to be about 150 years ago. Johnny asked him what his secret was and he said he drank every day, smoked non-stop, and chased women. Johnny asked him how old he was and he replied something along the lines of "25". I remember my Dad and I howling at that for quite a while.

Now I'm waiting for a YouTube link to see how close my memory of that is to reality.

posted by Slack-a-gogo 06 June | 10:53

I can't even imagine living to the point where I could come close to marking my 90th wedding anniversary.

posted by cmonkey 06 June | 11:33

I went to Liberty Memorial in Kansas City on Memorial Day and the last remaining US WWI vet was in attendance. He didn't seem nearly as with it as this guy does when they honored him - he seemed a little lost the whole time.

posted by dismas 06 June | 12:11

This was a real treat, jan. Not only did he live this long, it seems like a pretty good life at that. Good for him!!

posted by redvixen 06 June | 18:54

Fabulous, Jan, great story. I had a great-uncle who lived to 105 who attributed his longevity to the same things - he couldn't walk much, so he'd hoon around our suburb on his mobility scooter with his packet of 16mg cigarettes and flask of Johnnie Walker black label in the basket.

Pickling oneself does seem to be a legitimate longevity strategy!

posted by goo 07 June | 03:21

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