Owen Filer, believed to be the oldest man in Wales, has credited a diet of fish and chips for his long life as he celebrated his 107th birthday. The Cwmbran resident says there is "no secret" to a long life other than 'living properly', marking the milestone with friends, family, and fellow veterans on Friday.
A life of service and simple habits
Born in 1919, Mr Filer served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and later the Military Police during the Second World War. He told reporters: "How I got here I'll never know, but I've met a lot of people who have admired me and asked me how do I do it.
"No secret recipe, except that I always worked all my life. There is no secret, you just live properly, and I've always done it. I've never overeaten... I lived on fish and chips.
"Fish and chips, a full meal, a scoop full of chips and a fish, and it was cod and hake, it was genuine. You can't afford to buy it now, can you? It's such a change, isn't it, it's crazy."
Celebrations with family and veterans
On Friday, Mr Filer was presented with a commemorative statuette by SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, in honour of his military service and as an early celebration ahead of his birthday on Monday. He was joined at the event at Tredegar Veterans Support Hub by his daughter Anne Messore, 80, one of his four children. He also has 10 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
Later that Friday, Mr Filer received a surprise red carpet reception at Market Hall Cinema in Brynmawr, where he selected a showing of the film One Good Turn.
Reflections on reaching 107
When asked about reaching 107, he said: "I thought it would be a better world I would be living in, but I didn't think I'd ever make it.
"Nobody ever thought about old age in our family... We had no food, we had no money, and that's God's truth, we had no money."
Darren Foote, a fellow veteran who helped arrange the birthday festivities, said: "He doesn't understand why they make a fuss of him, he doesn't get it at all. He's just a really nice, down to earth guy.
"He still gets up in the morning, he puts a clean shirt on, puts his tie on, cleans his shoes, and he gets up with purpose. I think we can all take a leaf out of his book on that one, for sure."
