Man aged 107 reveals three things he eats every day for a longer life
Leonard Howes has received four cards from Buckingham Palace - one for his 100th, 105th birthday and every year after
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Britain’s 12th oldest man has turned 107 and revealed the secret to his long life.
Leonard Howes, born in 1916, served in World War 2 and has seen five different monarchs during his lifetime.
Mr Howes has now received four cards from Buckingham Palace - one for his 100th, 105th birthday and every year after.
Leonard, the oldest person from his home city of Bristol, honoured his 107th birthday with all his family by his side.
Carol Howes, his daughter-in-law, said: “He puts his long life down to eating Shredded Wheat with full fat milk and plenty of sugar for as long as he can remember.’’
Bristol City fan Len, as he is affectionately known by his family, left school aged 14 to train as a plumber.
In 1937 he got a job with Post Office Telephones, where he would work for the next 44 years and retired in 1981 aged 65 - just after it became known as British Telecom.
Len served in World War Two in the Royal Corp of Signals as an electrical engineer.
He was based at a military station in Wiltshire, Box Hill, during the Blitz and repaired bomb damage to telephone cables.
Mr Howes also worked intercepting possible enemy communication and electrical signals at the Forest Moor ‘Y’ station, a Royal Navy land base in Harrogate.
On VE day in 1945, Leonard marched proudly through the town applauded by cheering crowds.
Although Len is now 107, both his parents both died in 1945 and 46.
His wife Alice passed away in December 2000, aged 81. The pair were married for 60 years.
He has now lived in Newquay in Cornwall with David, his only child and his daughter-in-law Carol for 10 years.
Carol added: “Len had a lovely time celebrating with the rest of the family including his grandson Nick, granddaughter, Jenny and great grandsons, Ollie and Jacob.
“We always think of a theme for his birthday cake and this year it was a cake with fish and chips and mushy peas made from icing, his favourite meal, so it was fish and chips all round on Saturday.”
Carol says Len, despite being near-deaf, is still active in keeping up-to-date with current affairs and training his brain.
She added: “At 95 we gave him an iPad which he uses every day to follow the news and help him solve crosswords!
“He also uses “Find Friends” to the follow the family on their journeys when visiting from Bristol and Swindon.
“Just lately he has become a bit forgetful and a bit unsteady on his legs and uses a walking frame to get around, but for his age he is doing extremely well.”
He turned 107 on October 14.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments