Love is the secret to long and happy life, said a 100-year-old celebrating his birthday today. John Charles marked his milestone at a party with wife Elizabeth, family and friends at his home in Uplands, Swansea.
The centenarian, who still walks unaided and keeps in contact with younger relatives on Facebook, credited his good health and long life to love. He also gave up smoking as a young man and never drank much alcohol.
“The love of my present wife and all the family are the secret to a long life. I have done very well. It’s the love of my son, daughter, my wife and all the family,” he said.
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When John was born in Aberdare on April 18 1922 Lloyd George was Prime Minister and George V was on the throne. There was no NHS and no welfare state but John and his two older brothers grew up reasonably well off with their parents Evan and Anne running a local carpentry business.
Leaving Cwmdare School at 16 John got a job repairing bikes with the Halfords cycling company in Aberdare. With the outbreak of the Second World War, he joined the RAF as an instrument mechanic and was sent to India and Burma to work on British and US planes and drop food to troops from the air.
John escaped the war uninjured but lost friends who he still misses. He said he smoked through the war but then gave up, which may have helped him live to 100.
With fighting continuing in the east after the war in Europe ended John did not return home to Wales until 1947. At a time of post war depression he got a job in newspaper shop and moved to Swansea in the 1950s.
There he started his career as a driving instructor getting more than 800 people successfully through their tests in the city through his business Charles School of Motoring. Retiring in the 1990s John was happy to be surrounded by his second wife Elizabeth, 85, who he married in 1988.
His 10 great grandchildren aged two to 23 and his seven grandchildren, aged 29 to 49, have kept him young and engaged and John keeps in touch with his young relatives via his Facebook account. Until last year he was internet shopping and he still walks unaided and up and down stairs.
After living for a century through World War Two, the coronavirus pandemic and seeing governments and financial crises come and go, John said he believes life is better in the 21st century. “I enjoyed the old days but things have improved, no doubt,” he said after getting his congratulations letter from the Queen.
John remembers growing up in Aberdare and seeing people to go up to work in the colliery and one of his brothers worked in the mines. He used to watch people going up and see the ambulances go up there every day too.
He said he enjoyed his time as a driving instructor in the 1970s to 1990s. “I miss my wartime friends quite a lot. I lost some friends who were close and was joyful when the war was over. I like the peacefulness of life now.”
