World's oldest man says 'it's just luck' as he celebrates 112th birthday

The world's oldest living man has celebrated his 112th birthday at a care home in Southport today. John Tinniswood was born in Liverpool on August 26, 1912, the same year the Titanic sank.

He became the oldest man in the world in April this year and has said his long life is down to "luck". When John was asked how it felt to be turning the ripe old age of 112, he said: "In all honesty, no different.

"I don’t feel that age, I don’t get excited over it. That’s probably why I’ve reached it.

"I just take it in my stride like anything else, why I’ve lived that long I have no idea at all.

"I can’t think of any special secrets I have. I was quite active as a youngster, I did a lot of walking. Whether that had something to do with it, I don’t know. But to me, I’m no different [to anyone]. No different at all."

John was questioned as to what he thought the biggest difference in the world was from when he was born to now, more than a century apart. He said: “It’s no better in my opinion, or hardly any better, than it was then. Probably in some places it is, but in other places it’s worse.”

On the secret of his longevity, he told Guinness World Records it’s “just luck.” He added: "You either live long or you live short, and you can’t do much about it."

Beyond eating a portion of battered fish and chips every Friday, he said he does not follow any particular diet. He said: "I eat what they give me and so does everybody else. I don’t have a special diet."

John survived both world wars and is the world's oldest surviving veteran from World War II. He worked in an administrative role for the Army Pay Corps. He then went on to work as an accountant for Shell and BP before retiring in 1972.

A lifelong Liverpool FC fan, John was born just 20 years after the club was founded in 1892, and has lived through all eight of his club’s FA Cup wins and 17 of their 19 league title wins. He met his wife, Blodwen, at a dance in Liverpool, and the couple enjoyed 44 years together before Blodwen died in 1986.

Their daughter Susan was born in 1943. Since turning 100 in 2012, he received a birthday card each year from the late Queen Elizabeth, who was his junior by almost 14 years.

The oldest man ever was Jiroemon Kimura from Japan, who lived to the age of 116 years 54 days and died in 2013. The world’s oldest living woman, and oldest living person, is Japan’s 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka.