Oldest Man Henry Allingham - RIP

[Gun]

Being reported by the BBC that Henry Allingham has died.

RIP.

Edited by Gun on Saturday 18th July 08:05

[Dominic H]

Correct sir, Henry Allingham passed in his sleep at 3.10am this morning.......

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5856015/Wor...

RIP Old chap....

[Smart Mart]

Very sad news indeed.

That guy had more guts and more integrity in his little finger than the vast majority of folk in this country. He must have been so saddened when he heard about so much of what was occurring in the country.

I think his birthday party was held early this year IIRC and I thought then that he might not have long ( which reads a bit daft because the guy was 113 after all)

RIP Henry Allingham.

[robinhood21]

RIP Henry.

[DWP]

In 2006 at Theipval on the nintieth anniversary of the Somme, Henry met Prince Charles. It was a very hot day and at the end of the chat Charles said " ah well time for lunch, lets hope we get a drink first" To which Henry replied " It's the only reason I came."

[Asterix]

Smart Mart said:

That guy had more guts and more integrity in his little finger than the vast majority of folk in this country. He must have been so saddened when he heard about so much of what was occurring in the country.

Indeed - I often wonder what my Grandfather would have thought about today's Britain had he been alive (he died back in 87).

I honestly beleive that he'd sit there in wonder at the sacrifice he and his generation gave to allow this bunch of selfish, self serving ingrates to flourish. I also beleive that he'd probably wished he hadn't bothered, that it wasn't worth it.

Very sad state of affairs.

[skip_1]

Very sad news

A true hero.

RIP

[Dunk76]

Do not mourn his passing, celebrate his life - 113 years is one hell of an innings, especially to have lived through the most violent period in human history. He lived through 6 Monarchs, 27 Prime Ministers, and in a country which has been at war almost continuously since his birth.

Top work fella!

[FM]

He seemed as sharp as a tack right up to the end. He must have had a unique perspective on 20th century life bearing witness to the full spectrum of modern human development, from the smashing of Europe during both wars through the subsequent rebuild of modern civilisation.
RIP

[paddyhasneeds]

When I woke up this morning and flicked on the telly and saw the "BREAKING NEWS" I found myself thinking "bugger" for quite a long time.

It's amazing really, wherever you're sitting now just take a look around you and think how many of things within sight that you take for granted plain didn't exist when this chap was born.

I think some of the earlier news reports described him as the "last surviving" which I believe is wrong as Harry Patch (and doubtless a few others but I remember him from the news) is, I believe, still alive and sneaking up behind Henry in the "oldest man" stakes.

[Planet Claire]

I have only just got in and heard this on the news. I don't normally do RIP threads but here is one true brave man, who I'm not ashamed to say, that I shed a tear over just now. A sad day.

[M3333]

RIP Henry and i shall have a tipple tonight for you - thanks for your great service to our country.

[Balmoral Green]

Asterix said:

Smart Mart said:

That guy had more guts and more integrity in his little finger than the vast majority of folk in this country. He must have been so saddened when he heard about so much of what was occurring in the country.

Indeed - I often wonder what my Grandfather would have thought about today's Britain had he been alive (he died back in 87).

I honestly beleive that he'd sit there in wonder at the sacrifice he and his generation gave to allow this bunch of selfish, self serving ingrates to flourish. I also beleive that he'd probably wished he hadn't bothered, that it wasn't worth it.

Very sad state of affairs.

I have to say chaps, I think you're both being very presumptuous there. You are entitled to your own political views of course, but IMO it's poor form to speak for or on the behalf of previous generations as if they would share your views, particularly when they've not gone cold yet. They might just as well think the modern world is a wonderful place and well worth their efforts, looking at the standard of living, and the nice things that most of us have now.

Yes, we have a poor government, and yes, we have an underclass, but that, and recent short term political events are too small a scale of reference surely? Step back a bit eh? It's not really the time to insult 'the vast majority of folk in this country' and besmirch the nation in general, using Mr Allingham's passing as an excuse. He seemed to me to be a grand old gentleman, and full of grace.

The people of Britain, and the World, are not all bad.

[HRG.]

I bet he wouldn't have approved of the smoking ban though

[Chris_w666]

Dunk76 said:

Do not mourn his passing, celebrate his life - 113 years is one hell of an innings, especially to have lived through the most violent period in human history. He lived through 6 Monarchs, 27 Prime Ministers, and in a country which has been at war almost continuously since his birth.

Top work fella!

I bet the guy had an amazing view of the world that most of us will never get to have.

Brave man and its good to know he breathed his last with dignity RIP.

[Jasandjules]

He was an inspiration to us all. RIP.

[Eric Mc]

Jasandjules said:

He was an inspiration to us all. RIP.

Why?

I have great admiration for anyone who has to "fight for their country" but he was one of literally millions who served in the period 1914 to 1918. However, it is always sad when a direct link with great historical events are finally broken but that in itself isn't enough to go over the top in eulogising someone.

I had a brief look at his biography in WH Smith's yesterday (I might actually buy it) and it does seem that, in many ways, he had a reasonably "cushy" war compared to some. He was an aircraft mecahnic and fitter with the Royal Naval Air Service and, as a result, did not get involved directly in combat operations - being part of the technical support teams. He did see some action - notably working on a seaplane tender during the Battle of Jutland. However, the ship he served on was not in the actual battle itself as it needed to be stationed away from the capital ships involved in order to launch its plane in safety.

After Jutland, he served in the Navy's shore based Dunkirk aeroplane emaintenance facility which was well away from the front lines.
I don't want to show any disrespect to his service - what he did was vital - but I think some knowledge of what he actually did in WW1 wouldn't go amiss.

During WW2 he was not required to sign up as he had a reserved occupation i.e. working in the engineering department of the Ford Motor Company at Dagenham.

[Funk Odyssey]

Jasandjules said:

He was an inspiration to us all. RIP.

how does he inspire you??

this is worse than a Diana or Michael Jackson thread FFS

He was a man who lived a long time and happened to be part of the First World War.

He was very lucky. (Aside from outliving both his daughters - no-one should go through that)


What about the people who lost limbs/were blinded/suffered respiratory problems due to gassing etc?? And then got on with helping to rebuild the country....

They are the inspirational characters....

[Jasandjules]

Maybe I have him confused with someone else. I was of the impression that he lied about his age to sign up in WW1 and fought at the front, then went and and volunteered for WWII as well.

[DWP]

Funk Odyssey said:

Jasandjules said:

He was an inspiration to us all. RIP.

how does he inspire you??

this is worse than a Diana or Michael Jackson thread FFS

He was a man who lived a long time and happened to be part of the First World War.

He was very lucky. (Aside from outliving both his daughters - no-one should go through that)


What about the people who lost limbs/were blinded/suffered respiratory problems due to gassing etc?? And then got on with helping to rebuild the country....

They are the inspirational characters....

He inspired me in the way he spoke of the time he spent at war, the manner in which he talked more of those who did not return, his belief that his long life was of little consequence compared to death in war. His belief that those who died deserved to be remembered, witness his attendance at the Cenotaph several times after his 100th birthday. Just the way the man carried himself. He turned away from any notion of a state funeral, as has Harry Patch. In fact the last I heard, he had wanted to donate his body to medical research, although he was fond of say his long life was down to wild women and strong whiskey. In short he was gent who understood better than most that growing old was in it's self no big deal, it was what you did with that life, that was important.