A Winsford man, who laid claim to being the oldest man in Wales, has died at the age of 108.
Samuel Ledward, of High Park in Gwernaffield, was believed to be one of Britain’s oldest men, but died yesterday (August 18).
Mr Ledward was born in Winsford in 1906 and moved to Flintshire in 1995.
He hit the national headlines when it emerged that the former cabinet maker and butcher had a lucky escape 79 years ago when he was mistakenly declared dead following a motorcycle crash.
Mr Ledward was riding his bike in 1936 when the front tyre burst and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Incredibly, it was while he was being taken to the mortuary in a lorry that an eagle-eyed attendant spotted his hand move.
The centenarian lived through both world wars and saw five monarchs take the throne during his lifetime.
During the Second World War, he was conscripted to work on the construction of a poison gas plant at Weston Point in Runcorn which later became the ICI factory.
He married his wife Edith in 1940, and the couple were married for 53 years before she died in 1993.
Two years later, he moved to Flintshire to live with his friend and Edith’s cousin Millie Minshall.
Mr Ledward was well-known in the community, and enjoyed travelling to Mold on the bus three times a week to go shopping.
In recent years, he enjoyed travelling across the UK and abroad, as well as shopping and gardening.
Before his death, he put his long life down to “peace of mind and plenty of good food”, and to the man who realised he was still alive in 1936.
Mr Ledward leaves behind a son, David, and a grandson, Simon, who both live in Blackpool.
