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Britain’s oldest men celebrate their 111th birthdays

15th April 2019

 

Britain’s oldest men, Bob Weighton and Alfred Smith, have recently celebrated their 111th birthdays. People often assume these men must be twins, however, the pair have never actually met. Both men were born on 19th March 1908 and have exchanged birthday cards in recent years.

People often wonder what the secret is behind the longevity of their lives. Weighton reveals, as reported on the BBC, that it is simply: “to avoid dying.” When answering the same question, Smith says: “Porridge is helpful and having a job you enjoy.”

Smith, from Perthshire, was a Home Guard in the Second World War and married his wife, Isobel, when he was twenty-nine. He spent his later years farming in Kinfauns and raising two children. His wife and one of his sons passed away, and he continued to farm well into his 80s. He tells The Scotsman: “I like to think I’ve lived a decent life. I do ask myself – why me? Why have I lived so long when others haven’t?”

As you get older, it is normal to have to make certain changes in your life in order to make day-to-day life easier, whether this be with walking aids or installing a straight stair lift into your home. At 111 years old, Weighton is still going to the shops and cooking for himself: “I quite like meeting people I have never seen before, that’s one of my delights. I like meeting people who have been places and have some understanding of what it means to be human.”

Although the men have never met, they have both spent part of their lives in Canada. Weighton, from Hampshire, spent his former years as a teacher and engineer. In the meantime, he raised a large family of two sons, one daughter, ten grandchildren and twenty-five great-grandchildren. Even at 111 years old Weighton is still working, he recently released a book of poems to raise money for elderly people in Alton.

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This news article is from Handicare UK. Articles that appear on this website are for information purposes only.