John Tinniswood, who had been officially recognised as the oldest man in the world by the Guinness World Records, has sadly died aged 112.

The Englishman, who was born in 1912 shortly after the Titanic sunk, lived through two world wars, as well as two global pandemics.

He passed away peacefully at his care home surrounded by his family just seven months after taking the remarkable title, following the death of 114-year-old Juan Vicente Pérez Mora in April of this year.

Brazilian João Marinho Neto, at the grand age of 112 years 52 days, has taken over the mantle of being the newly recognised oldest man in the world.

Man of many qualities

John Alfred Tinniswood ended his days surrounded by “music and love”, so said a family statement. They wrote how amongst his “many fine qualities” were his intelligence, decisiveness, bravery, calmness in a crisis, talent for maths, as well as being a “great conversationalist”.

They added that these qualities served him well during his military service in the Royal Army Pays Corps during World War Two, where – in addition to accounts and auditing – his work involved logistical tasks, such as locating stranded soldiers and organising food supplies.

After World War Two, he worked for Royal Mail and, later, as an accountant for Shell and BP, before retiring in 1972 aged 60.

Liverpool man and fan

John was born in Liverpool in 1912 and became a lifelong supporter of Liverpool FC.

He would meet his wife Blodwen at a dance, before marrying her in 1942 with their daughter Susan arriving a year later. The couple enjoyed 44 years together before Mrs Tinniswood died in 1986.

Inspirational figure

He moved into the Hollies Rest care home in Southport just before his 100th birthday, where his kindness and enthusiasm for life were an inspiration to the care home staff and his fellow residents, his family said.

Since turning 100 in 2012, he had received an annual birthday card from the monarch – first from the late Queen Elizabeth II, who was his junior by almost 14 years, and, more recently, from King Charles III.

Fish and chip diet did him no harm

Mr Tinniswood had on several occasion been asked his opinion on his remarkable longevity and always said other than doing a lot of walking and eating fish and chips every Friday evening, he didn’t see himself as any different to anyone else.

He remarked in a very matter of fact way: “You either live long or you live short – and you can’t do much about it,” before adding: “If you drink too much, eat too much, or even walk too much, you’ll eventually suffer.”

He leaves his daughter, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Brazilian takes over the title

His title has passed to João Marinho Neto who was born in Maranguape, Ceará, Brazil, on 5 October 1912.

He had previously been acknowledged as the oldest living man in Brazil and in Latin America, and now the Guinness World Records have recognised him as the new holder of the world record.

Still some way off record

The oldest living man on record was Jiroemon Kimura, from Japan, who lived to the age of 116 years and 54 days before his death in 2013.

The world’s oldest living woman, and also the oldest living person, is Japan’s Tomiko Itooka, who is currently an astonishing 116 years old.