One of Britain’s longest-living doctors died at 108. One good habit he followed all his life can add 31 years to yours, even if you start at 50, says Harvard University

He lived to be 108. Renowned British allergist and immunologist Dr William Frankland, who passed away in 2020, often admitted that he had no secret or recipe for cheating death. In an earlier interview with the BBC, the doctor admitted he had had a close brush with death many times.

He reflected on the remarkable number of times he had narrowly escaped death throughout his long life. His experiences included surviving the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, enduring three and a half years in captivity as a Japanese prisoner of war, and suffering a severe anaphylactic reaction after being bitten by a tropical insect. Despite facing these potentially fatal situations, he had somehow survived each one and remained alive.

He also explained that the coronavirus pandemic had changed the way he would mark his birthday that year. The care home where he lived had temporarily stopped allowing visitors because of the health risks associated with the outbreak.


As a result, his birthday celebrations were expected to be much quieter and unlike those of previous years. He had received special permission for two of his children to come and see him briefly. However, because of the prevailing safety measures, they would have to maintain a considerable physical distance during the visit.

Born in 1912, at Sussex, Dr Frankland studied medicine at the University of Oxford and worked at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, before World War II occurred.

He enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), but he was a prisoner of war in Singapore for more than three of his six years in the Army.

He worked with Sir Alexander Fleming, the man who discovered penicillin, throughout the majority of his 70-year medical career at St Mary's Hospital.

Secret To Longevity

In an interview with CNN, Dr Frankland said that while he didn’t have a miraculous secret to a long life, he said that leading a healthy life and exercising your brain can go a long way in helping you live longer. He advocated a “sensible life” free of habits such as smoking and overeating, which can lower the risk of premature death.

“Be energetic in whatever it is socially and psychologically and emotionally [that] you’re doing…” he told CNN.

According to a study published by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, having a healthy diet and active life can and does add years to your life.

Eating a good diet, exercising frequently, maintaining a healthy body weight, abstaining from alcohol, and not smoking are five healthy behaviours that, when maintained in middle age, may enhance the number of years free from Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

As per the study they conducted, they found that at age 50, women who engaged in four or five of these healthy behaviours lived an average of 34.4 extra years free of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, compared to 23.7 healthy years for women who did not engage in any of these behaviours. At age 50, males who followed four or five healthy behaviours lived 31.1 years free of chronic illness, compared to 23.5 years for those who did not. The lowest disease-free life expectancy was found in men who currently smoked heavily and in both men and women who were obese.