World’s Oldest Man Passes Away at 113

War veteran and the world’s oldest man Henry Allingham, whose remarkable life spanned three centuries and six monarchs – and who saw the sinking of the Titanic, the first Moon landing and the birth of his great-great-great- grandchild, passed away this weekend in his home in Britain at the age of 113.

Mr. Allingham was only briefly the world’s oldest man, after the Japanese Tomoji Tanabe died in June of this year, also at the age of 113. Mr Tanabe was believed to have gotten to an old age on a diet of fish and milk and no alcohol, whereas Allingham had a different approach; once laughingly describing his secret to old age as being “cigarettes, whiskey and wild women.”

Mr Allingham was a known figure in Britain, not only because of his age, but because of being one of three surviving British World War I veterans. The two still living veterans are Henry Patch, who is 111, and Claude Choules, 108.

Mr. Allingham was born in London in 1896. He lost his father and mother at a young age and was thus raised by his grandmother. He became a trainee maker of surgical instruments and worked in the motor trade as a motor mechanic. He then fought in World War II with his service including hunting zeppelins over the North Sea, serving on a Royal Navy ship that fought in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and fighting in the French Somme trenches. He has been widely remembered as an icon of a generation that made many sacrifices for their country and was praised for his war service by Queen Elizabeth of England and prime minister Gordon Brown.

Mr Allingham has seen an amazing five generations of Allingham childeren being born. He has five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great grandchildren (some of which are on the picture of him and his family taken on his 111th birthday) and one great-great-great grandchild, according to news agencies. His wife, Dorothy, died in 1970.

The title of world’s oldest living man will now most likely fall to American Walter Breuning, who was born in 1896. Guinness World Records will make a formal announcement as soon as the record has been verified.