Henry Allingham
| Henry Allingham | |
|---|---|
Allingham in 2007
|
|
| Born |
6 June 1896 Clapton, London |
| Died | 18 July 2009 (aged 113 years, 42 days) Ovingdean, East Sussex |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy Royal Air Force
|
| Years of service | August 1915 – 16 April 1919 |
| Rank | Rigger Aero, Aircraft Mechanic First Class |
| Unit |
Royal Naval Air Service, Great Yarmouth Naval Air Station No. 12 Squadron RNAS Aircraft Depot, Dunkirk |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Freedom of the town of Eastbourne Freedom of the Town of Saint-Omer Freeman of Brighton and Hove Officer Légion d'honneur British War Medal Victory Medal Gold Medal of Saint-Omer |
| Spouse(s) | Dorothy Cator (1918-1970; her death) |
| Other work | Ford Motor Company |
Henry William Allingham (6 June 1896 – 18 July 2009) was a British supercentenarian, the oldest British man ever, First World War veteran and, for one month, the verified oldest living man in the world. He is also the second-oldest military veteran ever, and at the time of his death, he was the 12th-verified oldest man of all time.
Allingham was the oldest ever surviving member of any of the British Armed Forces and one of the oldest surviving veterans of the First World War. He was the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland, the last surviving member of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and the last surviving founding member of the Royal Air Force (RAF). In 2001 he became the face of the First World War veterans' association and made frequent public appearances to ensure that awareness of the sacrifices of the First World War was not lost to modern generations. He received many honours and awards for his First World War service and his longevity.
Allingham was born in 1896 in Clapton, County of London. When he was 14 months old, his father, Henry Thomas Allingham (1868-1897), died at age 29 of tuberculosis. Henry is recorded in the 1901 census with his widowed mother Amy Jane Allingham (née Foster) (1873-1915), a laundress forewoman, living with her parents and brother at 23 Verulam Avenue, Walthamstow. His mother remarried in 1905 to Hubert George Higgs and in 1907 the family moved to Clapham, London. Henry and his mother are recorded in the 1911 Census living at 21 Heyford Avenue, Lambeth, while his stepfather was lodging away from home working as a wheelwright. Henry attended a London County Council school before attending the Regent Street Polytechnic. Allingham remembered seeing the City Imperial Volunteers return from the Second Boer War, and also recalled watching W. G. Grace play cricket. On leaving school, Allingham started work as a trainee surgical instrument maker at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. He did not find this job very interesting, and so left to work for a coachbuilder specialising in car bodies.
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Wikipedia