ALTON’S Bob Weighton may now be the oldest man in the world but he takes no credit for it.

About to turn 112 at the end of the month, Bob was previously the oldest man in Britain.

However, Chitetsu Watanabe, of Joetsu City, Niigata, in Japan died last week at the age of 112, propelling Bob (who is fluent in Japanese) to the top of the league.

He said: “It is not something to be proud of. I’ve had nothing to do with it – I’ve just lived a long time.”

Still as sharp as a pin, the super centenarian has always taken an active interest in the politics of life: he watches the six o’clock news without fail and still has strong opinions on all things – from Brexit to the risk to child safety posed by modern technology.

But at heart he remains an engineer, with a passion for the environment. And it is this combination that seems to take up a lot of his thinking.

Bob has lived through two world wars – the first as a child, and the second spent in Canada and the USA, supporting the war effort, working in aircraft materials and intelligence.

Having gained a degree in engineering in the UK, the young Bob had been living in Taiwan when there was a warning things were bad in Europe and it was time to get out.

He recalls: “I was halfway across the Pacific when the Germans invaded Poland and Neville Chamberlain announced Britain was at war with Nazi Germany.”

He got back to England in 1946 and took a job as a lecturer in engineering at City University, which he described as 25 “very happy years,” moving to Alton in 1969 when he and his wife were looking for a place to retire.

A strong family man, Bob has three children (one deceased), ten grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren.

With their future in mind, he is a strong supporter of the climate change lobby, and admires Greta Thunberg for voicing her concerns.

He told the Herald: “At one time just a few people were putting out strange ideas but now they are becoming a flood.”

Associated from day one with the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Wales, Bob is attracted by the technology being developed to try to address climate change and to support those living in Third World countries – projects such as those in Africa where solar power is being harnessed for cooking and lighting.

He is a great advocate of wind power.

Locally he would like to see the replacement of the original 16th century windmill on Windmill Hill with a modern structure that could power the town’s street lights.

And he would like to see young people take on the challenge of travel – not by air but by train, bus, bike or foot.

While widely travelled, Bob does not describe himself as a traveller but as someone who loves to learn about other people’s culture.

His philosophy: “It is far better to make a friend out of a possible enemy that an enemy out of a possible friend.”