London’s oldest man has died at the age of 108.
Ben Raymond, a resident of Nightingale House in Clapham, had been a hairdresser, regaling friends with stories of celebrity clients, among them Charlton Heston, during the filming of Ben Hur.
Paying tribute, Nightingale Hammerson chief executive Helen Simmons said he would be "missed terribly" at the home. He moved to Nightingale House in 2012 with his wife Millie, to whom he was married for 76 years and who predeceased him.
"He was full of wonderful stories, many of which centred around his hair salon where his clients included aristocracy and film stars.
"He loved dancing and put his long life down to having a positive outlook - and the occasional shot of whisky.
"He had only recently given that up, along with smoking his pipe, for health reasons.
"He died at Nightingale House, in line with his wishes, and had been receiving palliative care.”
His death has been recorded as from coronavirus, although Ms Simmons said that he had not been tested.
Born in Bermondsey in July 1911 as Benjamin Israel, he changed his surname in the 1930s over concern about a German invasion.
“He chose Raymond after a famous hairdresser called Raymond Bessone [better known as Mr Teasy Weasy],” said his great-nephew Rafael Schacter, 40. His best-known salon was in "a great location" in Marble Arch.
During the war, he served as a nurse in the Army Medical Corps, based at Magdalen College in Oxford.
Mr Schacter described him as "very British" and always dapper, with his moustache and cravat.
He was also "super fun - a cheeky chappy, a wide boy. He was from a very working-class background and very proud of it." He would hold court with a glass of whisky in his hand, "telling an off-colour joke and having a laugh.
“He was the one person allowed to smoke inside at the home because it was impossible to stop him,”
The Raymonds had a son, Viktor, who passed away in 2012, shortly after Mrs Raymond’s death. "He really cared about his wife, that is clear," Mr Schacter said. There are four grandchildren.
He was buried at the United Synagogue's Waltham Abbey cemetery.
The officiating minister was Shmully Aronson from the US congregation in Sutton, where the Raymonds lived before moving to the care home, Rev Aronson said Mr Raymond was a “happy go-lucky sort of guy who appreciated life and was grateful for what came his way".
