World's oldest man dies in Britain at 113

BRIGHTON, England, July 18 (UPI) -- A Briton thought to be the world's oldest man -- and one of the few remaining World War I veterans -- has died at age 113, The Guardian reported Saturday.

The newspaper said Henry William Allingham, died Saturday morning at the St. Dunstan's care home in Ovingdean, near Brighton, East Sussex.

Allingham, who spent many years working for the Ford Motor Co. before retiring in 1961, spent 80 years refusing to talk about his experiences in the war, but later opened up and told researchers he endured horrific sights, and was present at the Battle of Ypres, observing men waiting to go "over the top."

"They would just stand there in two feet of water in mud-filled trenches, waiting to go forward," he said. "They knew what was coming. It was pathetic to see those men like that. I don't think they have ever got the admiration and respect they deserved."

The Guardian said Allingham began attending war remembrance events, visited schools to talk to children a century younger than he, and wrote an autobiography that was published last October.

Allingham is survived by five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great grandchildren and one great-great-great grandchild, the newspaper said.