R I P Henry Allingham

Henry Allingham, the World's oldest man at 113, died this morning. We were hoping to see him last week at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party to mark the Centenary of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm which Henry joined in 1915. He was not well enough to attend but I talked to Dennis and Brenda Goodwin his greatest friends and supporters who would have brought him to the event.

They have looked after all the veterans of World War I and helped to give them the recognition they deserve, a marvellous achievement that deserves our gratitude. They will be devastated by the loss of an inspiring and gracious old gentleman and I want to send them my condolences here. I have written about Henry Allingham here
and the BBC has marked his death here with a poignant video of his life and times. You can see Dennis and Brenda at his side, accompanying him, pushing his wheelchair, making his public appearances possible.

Farewell Henry - you embodied the stoicism and sacrifice of all our servicemen and the Nation mourns your passing.

If I'd known I would live so long (113)...

.. I'd have looked after myself better. It's an old joke. Henry Allingham now the oldest man alive at 113 (the oldest female is 115) puts his longevity down to cigarettes and whisky and wild wild women but I suspect that's a joke too. Henry is still a humorous chap. Doctors researching 'super-centenarians' (you have to be over 110 to qualify) have concluded that these people have in effect won the jackpot - with a winning combination of genetic and positive environmental factors. The odds are 7 million to 1 and well over 70% of those are women. Hats off to Henry then!




See my earlier post when I had the honour of meeting him at Southampton Solent University on his award of an honorary doctorate in engineering. He was obviously blessed with a good brain (after World War II he became a designer in the motor industry), a sense of fun, compassion and stoicism. He admits he had two breakdowns (during and after the war), caused by overwork and stress and believes that 'to stay within your capacity' is vital. Henry is lucky to be well cared for at the famous St. Dunstan's Home for blind service personnel in Sussex, and that Dennis and Brenda Goodwin, none too young themselves, are his 'minders'. He not only outlived his wife but his children too. The man whose life has spanned three centuries, six monarchs and twenty-one prime ministers has five grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great grandchildren and one great-great-great grandchild.




Here he celebrates his 113th birthday with his great-great grandson Erik Carlson.
Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA



Image Top: Daily Telegraph; below: Rear Admiral John Lang

Henry Allingham: A Life Spanning Three Centuries

No, this is definitely not an obituary. Dr. Henry Allingham is very much alive
and on 6th June will become a teenager again on the occasion of his 113th birthday. Britain's oldest war veteran, this is a man whose life has spanned three centuries and who remembers Queen Victoria’s funeral. Henry grew up in East London and joined the Royal Naval Air Service as an engineer in 1915 . He was to see action in the Battle of the Somme, one of the most traumatic and ghastly of World War I, and the naval Battle of Jutland.

Henry Allingham is an intelligent, humorous and compassionate man. In recent years, since he was 100, he has been committed to educating schoolchildren about the sacrifice and horror of two world wars. I had the honour of meeting him today when he was awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering at the Maritime Training School of Southampton Solent University.








He made a notable contribution to the early days of naval aviation and to magnetic mine counter-measures in World War II but he always regretted that he never had the opportunity to become a chartered engineer. That omission was made good today, recognising not just a fine career but an inspiring life as well.

Henry arrived by train from Sussex and was cheered by rail passengers on Fareham station. He was accompanied by his nurse and his two remarkable carers Dennis and Brenda Goodwin. The old man referred to his 82 year old companion as Dennis The Menace - a soldier who no doubt was a real menace to the Japanese in the ferocious Burma Campaign of the 1940s.

The ceremony was charged with emotion as Van Gore the Vice Chancellor of Southampton Solent University read out an impressive citation and the Chancellor, Admiral The Lord West of Spithead, presented Henry Allingham with his award. You never saw a man more proud or happy.



On my knees to pay tribute to an extraordinary man.

Thanks to Rear Admiral John Lang for these photos.




Do watch this You Tube clip of Henry at 110. Be amazed, amused and humbled.