By TSC Staff
June 22, 2009

A British veteran of World War I has officially become the world's oldest man at the age of 113 after the previous record holder in Japan died in his sleep, according to Guinness World Records.

The death of Tomoji Tanabe at the age of 113 means Henry Allingham of Britain now holds the title as the oldest man alive.  His birthdate was June 6, 1896, the same month that Henry Ford test-drove his first automobile and Guglielmo Marconi received a patent for the radio.

What is the secret of Allingham's long life? "Cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women,” he once joked.  But what's the real answer?

"Born in 1896," the Times of London reports, "the young man who signed up for the war thinking it would be a great adventure became a symbol of the sacrifice of a generation and a man with a string of “lasts” to his name"

"He is the last surviving founder member of the RAF, the last man to have witnessed the Battle of Jutland and the last surviving member of the Royal Naval Air Service."

Allingham is one of the two surviving World War I veterans in the United Kingdom.

How has he managed to survive in three different centuries?  Allingham tells the Times of London: “I don’t know if there is a secret, but keeping within your capacity is vital. I’ve had two major breakdowns, one during the war and one after but both when I was trying to do the work of three men.

“The trick is to look after yourself and always know your limitations.”

After serving as a bomber and a spotter during the war, Allingham called for more peaceful resolutions to global conflicts.

"War's stupid," he once told the BBC. "Nobody wins. You might as well talk first, you have to talk last anyway."

After working in the motor industry and raising a family, Allingham lives in a nursing home near Brighton, England.