A great-grandfather in England is now the world’s oldest person.
John Alfred Tinniswood, who is 111, earned the impressive title after the death of 114-year-old Juan Vicente Pérez on April 2, according to Guinness World Records.
The centenarian called his impressive feat “pure luck.”
“You either live long or you live short, and you can’t do much about it,” he told a Guinness World Records official adjudicator, who traveled to his residence to present him with a certificate.
Born on Aug. 26, 1912 – the same year the Titanic sank — Tinniswood now lives at a retirement home in Southport, a seaside town about 20 miles from his native Liverpool.
The staff there refers to him as “a big chatterbox.”
Tinniswood, who worked in accounts for Shell and BP oil and gas company until he retired in 1972, is still able to manage his own finances and keep up with the news via a radio.
He told Guinness he doesn’t have any particular eating habits, besides indulging in fish and chips every Friday.
“I eat what they give me and so does everybody else,” said the senior citizen, who is also the oldest surviving male World War II veteran.
“I don’t have a special diet.”
He also stays healthy by not smoking and rarely touching alcohol.
“If you drink too much or you eat too much or you walk too much; if you do too much of anything, you’re going to suffer eventually,” he said.
His wife Blodwen, whom he was married to for 44 years, died in 1986.
The record holder, who has four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, became the oldest man in the UK in 2020 — and since turning 100, received an annual birthday card from the late Queen Elizabeth.
His advice to younger generations is to always put effort into all their endeavors.
“Always do the best you can, whether you’re learning something or whether you’re teaching someone,” he said.
“Give it all you’ve got. Otherwise it’s not worth bothering with.”
Read More: 111-year-old man born same year Titanic sank is now oldest in world
