Yahoo News Briton aged 111 becomes world's oldest man following death of previous record holder in Japan
A British centenarian has become the oldest man in the world following the death of the previous title holder in Japan.
Bob Weighton, who turns 112 on 29 March, will become the oldest living male on earth.
The former holder, Chitetsu Watanabe, is reported to have died at the age of 112 in Joetsu, Japan, on Sunday.
Watanabe’s passing came just days after he claimed his Guinness World Record certificate on 12 February .
Weighton, from Alton, Hampshire, was born in Hull in 1908 and already held the title of England’s oldest man.
But he became Britain’s oldest in 2019 after Scotland’s oldest man, Alfred Smith, from St Madoes, Perthshire, who shared the same birthday with him, died last summer.
Read more: England’s oldest man reveals his secret to long life
He has two sons, a daughter, 10 grandchildren and 25 grandchildren.
Weighton, a former teacher and engineer, has a workshop in his assisted care flat where he makes windmills and ornaments from recycled wood.
Reacting to the news, he said: “Well, I don’t really feel satisfied because it means someone else has died.
“I just accept it as a fact, it’s not something I ever intended, wanted or worked for but it’s just one of those facts of life.
Read more: World’s oldest man, who encouraged smiling, dies at 112 in Japan
“You might find it amazing but it’s just one of those things.”
As well as having shared his birthday with Smith, Weighton also shares the same birthday with Britain’s oldest woman, Joan Hocquard, from Poole, Dorset.
Britain’s second oldest woman, Violet Davies-Evans, from Spalding, Lincolnshire, was born on the following day.
A spokesman for Guinness World Records said it was currently investigating the title for the oldest living man following the death of Watanabe.
The spokesman said: "Further information will follow soon upon confirmation of the next record-holder.”
