Born in 1916, Mr. Howes has witnessed five monarchs' reigns and served in World War 2 as an electrical engineer. His service included repairing bomb-damaged telephone cables during the Blitz and intercepting potential enemy communications in Harrogate.
Leonard, a lifelong Bristol City fan, embarked on a plumbing career at 14 and later joined Post Office Telephones in 1937, where he remained for 44 years, retiring shortly after its rebranding as British Telecom.
He has received four birthday cards from Buckingham Palace and celebrated his latest birthday surrounded by family in Newquay, Cornwall, where he currently resides with his son and daughter-in-law.
Despite the loss of both his parents in the mid-1940s and his wife in 2000, Leonard maintains an active lifestyle. He uses an iPad daily to stay informed and track family members' locations. While he's become slightly forgetful and relies on a walking frame, Leonard remains in remarkable condition for his age.