Henry Allingham Henry William Allingham ( 6 June 1896 – 18 July 2009 ) was a British supercentenarian , 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 . Early life . Allingham was born in 1896 in Clapton , County of London . When he was 14 months old , his father , Henry Thomas Allingham , died at age 29 of tuberculosis . Henry is recorded in the 1901 census with his widowed mother Amy Jane Allingham ( née Foster ) , 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 . First World War . Allingham wanted to join the war effort in August 1914 as a despatch rider , but his critically ill mother managed to persuade him to stay at home and look after her . However , after his mother died in 1915 , aged 42 , Allingham enlisted with the Royal Naval Air Service ( RNAS ) . He became formally rated as an Air Mechanic Second Class on 21 September 1915 , and was posted to Chingford before completing his training at Sheerness , Kent . His RNAS serial number was RNAS F8317 . After graduation , Allingham was posted to the RNAS Air Station at Great Yarmouth where he worked in aircraft maintenance . On 13 April 1916 , King George V inspected the air station and its aircraft . Allingham later reported disappointment at barely missing an opportunity to speak with the king . Allingham also worked in Bacton , Norfolk , further up the coast , where night - flying was conducted and was later involved in supporting anti - submarine patrols . A typical patrol would last two or three days and would involve the manual labour of hoisting a seaplane in and out of the water by means of a deck - mounted derrick . During the preparations for what has become known as the Battle of Jutland , Allingham was ordered to join the naval trawler HMT " Kingfisher " . Onboard was a Sopwith Schneider seaplane that was used to patrol the surrounding waters for the German High Seas Fleet . Allingham ' s responsibilities included helping to launch this aircraft . Although the " Kingfisher " was not directly involved in the battle ( it shadowed the British Grand Fleet and then the High Seas Fleet ) , Allingham still rightfully claimed to be the last known survivor of that battle and could recall " seeing shells ricocheting across the sea . " In September 1917 , Allingham , by then an Air Mechanic First Class , was posted to the Western Front to join No . 12 Squadron RNAS . This unit acted as a training squadron for other RNAS squadrons based on the Western Front . There is also some evidence that the squadron was involved in combat operations . When Allingham arrived at Petite - Synthe , both the Royal Flying Corps ( RFC ) and the RNAS were involved in the Ypres offensive . Allingham also instrumented the very first reconnaissance aircraft camera during the First World War . On 3 November 1917 , he was posted to the aircraft depot at Dunkirk , France where he remained for the rest of the war , on aircraft repair and recovery duties . He recalls being bombed from the air and shelled from both the land and the sea . He transferred to the Royal Air Force when the RNAS and the RFC were merged on 1 April 1918 . The creation of the Royal Air Force did not initially have a big impact on Allingham and he later remarked that at that time he still considered himself a navy man . In the RAF he was ranked as a Rigger Aero , Aircraft Mechanic Second Class and was given a new service number : 208317 . Allingham returned to the Home Establishment in February 1919 and was formally discharged to the RAF Reserve on 16 April 1919 . During the last few years of his life Allingham was recognized as the last surviving founding member of the RAF . Speaking with Dennis Goodwin of the First World War Veterans ' Association , Allingham said , " It is a shock as well as a privilege to think that I am the only man alive from that original reorganisation when the RAF was formed . " Inter - war years . Career . In addition to his military service as a mechanic , Allingham spent the vast majority of his professional life as an engineer . His employers included Thorns Car Body Makers , Vickers General Motors and H . J . M . Car Body Builders . He started his longest stretch of employment in 1934 designing new car bodies for the Ford Motor Company at their Dagenham plant which had opened only a few years previously in 1931 . Family life . Allingham met Dorothy Cator ( 1895 – 1970 ) in Great Yarmouth , Norfolk in 1918 . They married the same year in Romford , when she was 22 . They moved to Eastbourne , Sussex in 1960 and remained married until she died there from acute and chronic lymphatic leukaemia . They had two daughters , Betty ( born 1920 ) and Jean ( 1923 – 2001 ) . Jean emigrated to the United States and died aged 78 in 2001 . At the time of his death Allingham believed that Betty had died . He had lost touch with her in the 1970s following a family rift after the death of his wife in 1970 . In fact Betty Hankin was still alive aged 89 when her father died , and living in Stroud , Gloucestershire . In addition to his one remaining daughter Betty , at the time of his death Allingham had seven grandchildren , 16 great - grandchildren , 14 great - great - grandchildren , and one great - great - great - grandchild . Second World War . During the Second World War , Allingham was in a reserved occupation and worked on a number of projects . Perhaps his most significant contribution was the design of an effective counter - measure to the German magnetic mine s . During his Christmas lunch in 1939 he was called away to help design a system that would neutralise the mines and open the port of Harwich , Essex . Nine days later , he had successfully completed the task . Post - WWII . After the Second World War Allingham continued to work for Ford until he retired in 1960 . After Denis Goodwin of the First World War Veterans ' Association tracked him down in 2001 , Allingham took a prominent role in telling his story so that later generations would not forget . On 16 October 2003 , he helped launch the 2003 Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal with model Nell McAndrew aboard the cruiser . He was quoted as saying " [ The veterans ] have given all they have got for the country . . . I owe them . . . we all owe them . " A ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall , London on 4 August 2004 , marked the 90th anniversary of Britain ' s entry into the First World War . Allingham attended , together with three other First World War veterans , William Stone , Fred Lloyd and John Oborne . Allingham also marched past the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday in 2005 and laid wreath s at memorials in Saint - Omer on Armistice Day . That was the last time a First World War veteran marched past the Cenotaph and it marked the end of an era . No First World War veterans were present at the Cenotaph for the 2006 Remembrance Sunday Parade . As the last surviving member of the RNAS , and the last living founding member of the RAF , Allingham was an honoured guest when the British Air Services Memorial was unveiled at Saint - Omer on 11 September 2004 . During the ceremony Allingham was given the Gold Medal of Saint - Omer , which marked the award of the Freedom of the Town . The group of RAF technical trainees that joined him at this ceremony continued to visit Allingham at his retirement home in Eastbourne , demonstrating the bond of respect that these men had for Allingham . In November 2005 Allingham accepted an invitation from the International Holographic Portrait Archive to have his holographic portrait taken . His image was recorded for posterity in December 2005 . At the same time , an exhibition was being planned for London ' s floating naval museum on board HMS " Belfast " , entitled the " Ghosts of Jutland " . A copy of this portrait was donated to the museum and HRH The Duchess of Gloucester unveiled the portrait to mark the opening of the exhibition . Allingham was awarded the freedom of his home town of Eastbourne by the mayor on 21 April 2006 . He lived on his own until May 2006 when , one month before his 110th birthday and with failing eyesight , he moved to St Dunstan ' s , a charity for blind ex - service personnel , at Ovingdean , near Brighton . Aside from his poor eyesight , he was reportedly in good health , with visitors remarking on his memory and voice . Allingham attended the 1 July 2006 commemorations at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing . He did not attend the 2006 Remembrance Day parade on 11 November at the Cenotaph as he was in France at a wreath - laying ceremony and to receive the Freedom of The Town of Saint - Omer . He did , however , launch the Eastbourne Poppy Appeal before leaving for this trip . On 18 April 2007 Allingham visited Wilnecote High School in Tamworth , Staffordshire to answer students ' questions about the First World War , after they wrote to veterans asking them about their experiences . In October 2007 he was honoured at the Pride of Britain Awards . Between his 110th and 111th birthdays Allingham made over 60 public appearances , including a visit to The Oval on 5 June 2007 , the day before his 111th birthday , where he was wheeled around the boundary in front of the spectators . On his 111th birthday , a Royal Marines band played to Allingham on board before he returned with friends and relatives to the Queen ' s Hotel on the Portsmouth seafront for afternoon tea . Asked how it felt , Allingham replied , " I ' m pleased to be seeing another tomorrow . It ' s just the same as it was as at any age , it ' s no different . I ' m happy to be alive and I ' m looking forward to the celebrations . I never imagined I ' d get to 111 . " On 1 April 2008 , the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Royal Air Force , Allingham was guest of honour at the celebratory events at RAF Odiham in Hampshire . By then , Allingham was the only surviving founder member of the RAF . Allingham celebrated his 112th birthday with members of his family at RAF Cranwell , Lincolnshire as the guest of honour at a luncheon at the college . During the day the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight performed a flypast which was followed by an acrobatic display from two Tutor aircraft . In June 2008 , at his personal request , Allingham was taken on a guided tour of the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft at BAE Systems in Warton , Lancashire , as part of the National Veterans ' Day celebrations . On 23 September 2008 , Allingham launched a book about his life , co - written by Denis Goodwin , with an event at the RAF Club in London . On 11 November 2008 , marking the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War , together with Harry Patch and Bill Stone , Allingham laid a commemorative wreath for the Act of Remembrance at The Cenotaph in London . Allingham was invested as a Scout on 18 November 2008 , 100 years after he first joined as a youth . He said he was only able to spend six weeks with his local group as a boy . Allingham celebrated his 113th birthday on , at an event hosted by the Royal Navy . He received a signed birthday card from First Sea Lord Sir Jonathon Band and saw a Mark 8 Royal Navy Lynx flying overhead while he was sitting outside in his wheelchair . When asked the secret of his long life , Allingham said , " I don ' t know , but I would say , be as good as you possibly can . " Oldest living man . Allingham credited " cigarettes , whisky and wild , wild women – and a good sense of humour " for his longevity . Allingham overtook George Frederick Ives as the longest lived member of the British Armed Forces on 1 November 2007 . He was therefore the longest lived British First World War veteran to date . Following the death of Tomoji Tanabe on 19 June 2009 , Allingham became the oldest living man . At his death , he was the oldest living veteran of the First World War , but not the longest lived member of any armed force in any conflict ; this record is held by Emiliano Mercado del Toro of Puerto Rico , who also served in the First World War . Allingham was the oldest living man in England for several years . Official recognition by Guinness World Records came in January 2007 . On 8 February 2007 , with the death of 110 - year - old Antonio Pierro , he became the oldest known living veteran of the First World War , as well as the third - oldest living man in the world . On 13 February 2007 , he became the UK ' s second - oldest living person , behind Florrie Baldwin . Since the death of French supercentenarian Maurice Floquet ( died 2009 ) on 10 November 2006 , Allingham was the oldest validated living man in Europe . The death of Japanese man Sukesaburo Nakanishi on 22 August 2007 meant that from then on Allingham shared the position of second - oldest man in the world with George Francis , an American man also born on 6 June 1896 , for more than a year until Francis ' death on 27 December 2008 . On 29 March 2009 , Allingham became the oldest British man of all time . With the death of Tomoji Tanabe on 19 June 2009 he became the oldest living man in the world ; after Allingham ' s death , that title passed to Walter Breuning of Montana . On 13 February 2007 , he became the UK ' s second - oldest living person , behind Florrie Baldwin , and on 29 March 2009 , he became the oldest ever British male , surpassing Welshman John Evans who died aged 112 years and 295 days . He was also the first ever verified British man to reach the age of 113 . Guinness World Records confirmed that at age 113 years , 13 days , he became the oldest living man in the world , following the death of Japanese supercentenarian Tomoji Tanabe on 19 June 2009 . On 18 July 2009 , Allingham died of natural causes aged 113 years and 42 days . As the number of First World War veterans dwindled calls grew to give the last remaining veteran a state funeral . The calls resulted in Her Majesty ' s Government approving on 27 June 2006 a National Memorial Service at Westminster Abbey to take place after the death of the last known British First World War veteran . Prior to this announcement Allingham often said that he tried not to think about the prospect , but has also been quoted as saying " I don ' t mind — as long as it ' s not me . " Allingham received a letter from Member of Parliament Tom Watson on 14 July 2006 explaining the reasoning for a national memorial service rather than a state funeral , as the intention is to commemorate the entire generation that fought in the war rather than single out an individual . In Harry Patch ' s book " The Last Fighting Tommy " , the author claims that Allingham planned to leave his body to medical science . In his own book " Kitchener ' s Last Volunteer " Allingham confirmed that he was intending to leave his body to medical science . However he was persuaded by Denis Goodwin to change his mind , as he became a symbol of World War I to remind people of the sacrifices made during the conflict . To that end he agreed to a funeral and cremation . Awards . War medals and awards . Allingham was awarded four medals , two of which were medals from the First World War . The Gold Medal of Saint - Omer was awarded to Allingham on 11 September 2004 when he was given the Freedom of the Town of Saint - Omer . He was also awarded France ' s highest military honour , the Légion d ' honneur , in which he was appointed a " chevalier " in 2003 and promoted to " officier " in 2009 . The remaining two medals are British Campaign Medals from the First World War : the British War Medal and the Victory Medal ; those two medals are colloquially known as " Mutt and Jeff " . These two medals are replacement medals supplied by the Ministry of Defence after discovering at a recent cenotaph parade that Allingham ' s original campaign medals were destroyed during the Blitz of the Second World War . Honorary awards . As well as the above mentioned decorations , Allingham won several awards and honorary memberships . Examples include the Pride of Britain award , and a position as an honorary member of the Fleet Air Arm Association . Although not formally qualified he was recognised by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers ( IMechE ) who presented him with a Chartered Engineer award on 19 December 2008 . Allingham had the following to say about the award : This was followed on 22 May 2009 with the award of an honorary doctorate in engineering at the Southampton Solent University by the university ' s chancellor , the former First Sea Lord Alan West , for his contribution to Britain and its allies during two world wars and his continuing charity work , especially connected with veteran servicemen and women . Death and funeral . Allingham died of natural causes in his sleep at 3 : 10 am on 18 July 2009 at his care home , St Dunstan ' s Centre in Ovingdean near Brighton , aged 113 years and 42 days . Allingham ' s funeral took place at St Nicholas ' Church , Brighton at noon on 30 July 2009 , with full military honours . His coffin was carried by three Royal Navy seamen and three RAF airmen . The service was preceded by a half - muffled quarter peal on the church ' s bells , rung by local ringers and members of the RAF and Royal Navy change ringing associations . Among the mourners was the Duchess of Gloucester , representing the Queen , and Veteran ' s Minister Kevan Jones . Senior Royal Navy and Royal Air Force officers , including Vice - Admiral Sir Adrian Johns and Air Vice - Marshal Peter Dye , represented the two services of which Allingham had been a member . Allingham ' s surviving daughter , Betty Hankin , 89 , attended the funeral , with several members of her family . The funeral was followed by a flypast of five replica First World War aircraft ; British and French buglers played the Last Post and Reveille ; and a bell was tolled 113 times , once for each year of his life . The BBC commissioned Carol Ann Duffy , the Poet Laureate , to write a poem to mark the deaths of Allingham and Harry Patch , who died one week after Allingham on 25 July 2009 . The result , " Last Post " , was read by Duffy on the BBC Radio 4 programme " Today " on the day of Allingham ' s funeral . A tree was planted , and a commemorative plaque unveiled , at the Eastbourne Redoubt on 22 May 2010 to mark Allingham ' s residence in the town .