Sarah
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Taunton Courier. Bristol and Exeter Journal and Western Advertiser Wednesday 20 Nov 1935
Page 6 Column 5
CENTENARIAN WITH MODERN OUTLOOK.
KEEN READER AND WRITER.
MR. H. KING'S 64 GRANCHILDREN.
As reported in our last issue, Mr. Henry KING, of 15, Whitehall, Taunton, celebrated his hundredth birthday on Sunday and received a visit from the Mayor, Alderman J. C. LANE, who was accompanied by Councillor W. G. DOWN. They congratulated him on the attainment of so notable an anniversary and on his splendid health and activity.
Mr. KING reads the newspapers with avidity, and, as a retired railwayman – he served for more than half-a-century in the signal department of the Great Western Railway – he is also keenly interested in books dealing with engineering and kindred subjects. He still does a little gardening, and frequently writes long letters to members of his family. He keeps his mind abreast of modern political, social and industrial problems. He served on the Bristol and Exeter Railway before it was taken over by the G.W.R. He was formerly connected with the Taunton Corps of the Salvation Army, and was well known as a local preacher.
Mr. KING has five sons, two daughters, 64 grandchildren, many great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. One son, Mr. Henry KING, aged 74 years, is a farmer in Kenora, Ontario, Canada, where he has filled the office of Reeve (Mayor). Mr. Alfred KING, of Maidstone, was assistant to the architect who designed St. Andrew's Church, and he and anther son, Mr. Ernest KING, J.P., of Shrewsbury, are keen musicians. Mr. Alfred KING is a church organist, while Mr. Ernest KING will be remembered in Taunton as a tenor soloist. He also organised several choirs during his residence in the town.