Joseph Winton, UK’s oldest Jewish man, dies aged 106 - The Jewish Chronicle

Joseph Winton, Jewish refugee, veteran and former bearer of the title “oldest Jewish man in the UK”, has passed away at the age of 106.

His death on December 6, 2025 was confirmed by his daughter, Daniella Winton.

Born Selig Weissberg on 2 March, 1919, in Lodz, Poland, he was less than a year old when his parents, Yiska and Shlomo, fled to Brussels to escape the pogroms with him and his older sister, Rosette.

His younger brother, Jacques, was born there three years later, and the family lived in Belgium as practising Orthodox Jews until the Nazis invaded the country in 1940. Joseph’s sister joined the underground Resistance while he and his brother fled the country, hiding on a train for nine days and nights before arriving in Toulouse, France where, with the help of an officer in the Polish Army, they hid on a transatlantic ship whose destination they did not know.

Joseph Winton, as a young man (Photo: courtsey)[Missing Credit]

Their boat arrived in Plymouth, and the brothers then took a train to London. Joseph joined the Royal Army Ordinance Core, using his language skills in Yiddish, German, French and Flemish, to work in communications.

After the war, he became a salesman for French fashion house Desarbre until he started running his own business, selling unique leather gloves, which were even supplied to Queen Elizabeth. There is a pair in the V&A museum with his name attached.

In 1957, Joseph met his wife Ann Ahuva Armon from Israel, and they married within three months, settling first in St John’s Wood and then in Finchley, where they had two children, Philip and Daniella. The couple were together for 59 years, until Ann passed away in February 2016.

Ann and Joseph Winton (Photo: courtesy)[Missing Credit]

Joseph’s family, including his parents, sister and her husband, all survived the war, and continued to live in Brussels thereafter.

His brother moved back to Brussels after the war, where he lived with the rest of the family. Joseph was the only one to stay in the UK.

To mark his centenarian status, Joseph, who spent his final months at Hammerson House care home, received three telegrams from the Royal Family – first from Queen Elizabeth when he turned 100, the second from King Charles and Queen Camilla when he turned 105, and again for his 106th birthday in March of this year. Joseph, formerly the oldest Cohen in the UK, marked his birthdays by spending time with his family, singing his favourite song, La Vie En Rose, and enjoying afternoon tea.

Joseph Winton and his daughter, Daniella (Photo: courtesy)[Missing Credit]

“He was full of life, vibrant, smiley, happy, a positive thinker,” his daughter Daniella said. “He made an impact on everyone he met – he just had an infectious personality.”

Joseph's granddaughter, Natalie, added: “He never missed a school play, a concert, a performance, birthday parties, and so much more. There was never a day we doubted his love for us, and his dedication to us and our mum was truly so special and something we will never take for granted,” she said. “He didn’t have a bone of hate in his body; he embraced life and all its challenges with a smile permanently on his face, and with love in his heart.”

Joseph is survived by his two children and three grandchildren, Gideon, Natalie and Benjamin.

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Joseph Winton