Goodbye to a hero: World's oldest man WWI veteran Henry Allingham dies aged 113
Henry Allingham served with the Royal Naval Air Service during the Great War, later transferring to the Royal Air Force and serving at Ypres.
'Everybody at St Dunstan's is saddened by Henry's loss and our sympathy goes out to his family,' said Robert Leader of St Dunstan's care home in near Brighton, East Sussex.
Mr Leader said: 'He was very active right up to his final days, having recently celebrated his 113th birthday on HMS President surrounded by family.
'As well as possessing a great spirit of fun, he represented the last of a generation who gave a very great deal for us.
'Henry made many friends among the residents and staff at St Dunstan's. He was a great character and will be missed.'
A funeral will take place later this month at St Nicholas' Church in Brighton.
Mr Allingham leaves five grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great grandchildren and one great-great-great grandchild.
Enlarge Staff at the St Dunstan care home where Mr Allingham lived out his final days described him as 'a great character'
He joined the Royal Naval Air Service in September 1915 before transferring to the RAF in April 1918 and was the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland.
Last month, Mr Allingham, born in 1896, became the world's oldest man following the death of previous title holder Japanese Tomoji Tanabe.
Mr Allingham once attributed his grand age to 'cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women'.
He became the UK's oldest man on January 19, 2007, aged 110 years 227 days.
The oldest surviving member of the Armed Forces held a clutch of honours, including the British War Medal, Victory Medal and the Legion d'Honneur - the highest military accolade awarded by France.
His grandson, Tim Gray, described him in recent years as 'unbelievable'.
He said: 'He is a really incredible man with a great sense of humour.'
Born in London on June 6, 1896, Mr Allingham's father died when he was a baby.
He once said he thought joining the war effort would be an adventure, not realising what it meant.
He was initially persuaded to remain at home by his mother.
'War's stupid,' he told the BBC. 'Nobody wins. You might as well talk first, you have to talk last anyway.'
Enlarge Hero: Allingham held a clutch of honours, including the British War Medal, Victory Medal and the Legion d'Honneur
In September 1915, following his mother's death, he joined the Royal Navy Air Service (RNAS) and was sent to France, maintaining seaplanes.
Enthusiastic to play his part, pilots would take him flying and he would take the role of a spotter or a bomber.
In late 1917, Mr Allingham was posted to an aircraft depot in Dunkirk and became a member of the Royal Air Force following the merger of the RNAS and the Royal Flying Corps.
The great-grandfather was the last founder member of the RAF and the only remaining survivor of the infamous Battle of Jutland off the Danish coast in 1916.
He had a miraculous escape from his ship, the Kingfisher, when a German shell heading directly for it bounced over the top.
He described to the Daily Mail how he remained haunted by scenes from the third battle of Ypres.
'They would just stand there in two feet of water in mud-filled trenches, waiting to go forward,' he said.
'They knew what was coming. It was pathetic to see those men like that.
'In many ways I don't think they have ever got the admiration and respect they deserved.'
He was also shot in the arm, telling the newspaper: 'The bullet passed through my arm and out the other side.
'They just bandaged me up and sent me out again. It's so long ago that the scar has gone.'
In 1919 he left the air force after service at Cologne as part of the Army of Occupation.
He was married to his late wife Dorothy for more than half a century.
During the Second World War, Mr Allingham's engineering skills were vital to designing counter measures to the Germans' magnetic mines.
In 1941, he helped defuse the mines that had been used to blockade Harwich harbour.
Mr Allingham told the BBC: 'Like so many, I have tried to forget my time in the war.
'In the last few years I have met other veterans, and we never spoke one word of the war, not one.'
Asked about his longevity, he said: 'I don't know if there is a secret, but keeping within your capacity is vital.
'I've had two major breakdowns, one during the war and one after but both when I was trying to do the work of three men.
'The trick is to look after yourself and always know your limitations.'
In 2006 Mr Allingham joined thousands who gathered to remember one of the most bitterly contested and bloodiest conflicts - the Battle of the Somme.
The same year saw him set foot on German soil for the first time in more than 85 years, meeting 109-year-old counterpart Robert Meier.
In the Ruhr industrial heartland of Germany, the wartime foes cast aside their wheelchairs to embrace as friends.
Speaking through interpreters, they discovered that for more than a year they were both at the Somme.
Mr Allingham grasped his new friend's hand, saying: 'My very best wishes, and may you have a long life still.'
Later, wheeled to a war memorial, both men forced themselves from their chairs to pay their respects.
Grasping a poppy wreath, frail Mr Allingham paused before settling back into his chair, his thoughts with the comrades who never returned.
In 1919 he left the air force after service at Cologne as part of the Army of Occupation.
He was married to his late wife Dorothy for more than half a century.
During the Second World War, Mr Allingham's engineering skills were vital to designing counter measures to the Germans' magnetic mines.
In 1941, he helped defuse the mines that had been used to blockade Harwich harbour.
Mr Allingham told the BBC: 'Like so many, I have tried to forget my time in the war.
'In the last few years I have met other veterans, and we never spoke one word of the war, not one.'
Asked about his longevity, he said: 'I don't know if there is a secret, but keeping within your capacity is vital.
'I've had two major breakdowns, one during the war and one after but both when I was trying to do the work of three men.
'The trick is to look after yourself and always know your limitations.'
In 2006 Mr Allingham joined thousands who gathered to remember one of the most bitterly contested and bloodiest conflicts - the Battle of the Somme.
The same year saw him set foot on German soil for the first time in more than 85 years, meeting 109-year-old counterpart Robert Meier.
In the Ruhr industrial heartland of Germany, the wartime foes cast aside their wheelchairs to embrace as friends.
Speaking through interpreters, they discovered that for more than a year they were both at the Somme.
Mr Allingham grasped his new friend's hand, saying: 'My very best wishes, and may you have a long life still.'
Later, wheeled to a war memorial, both men forced themselves from their chairs to pay their respects.
Grasping a poppy wreath, frail Mr Allingham paused before settling back into his chair, his thoughts with the comrades who never returned.
Expressing regret at not being able to grasp the native tongue, he quipped: 'It's too late for me to start thinking about learning German now.'
Mr Allingham celebrated his 110th birthday with a flypast, joined at the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne by family and then Chancellor Gordon Brown, who gave him a letter from the Queen, a bottle of whisky and a copy of the Budget statement from the year he was born.
Mr Allingham was living at St Dunstan's care home for ex-servicemen and women near Brighton.
He watched from the hotel balcony as two RAF Tornado aircraft from 31 Squadron at RAF Marham flew past. Afterwards he raised a toast to the Queen.
Squadron Leader Jim Pruden, from RAF Innsworth, said: 'For us, Henry is an inspiration.
Inspiration: RAF air cadets chat to Mr Allingham (with grandson David Gray and his wife Charlotte Gray)
'He inspires countless veterans who are younger than him but also those who are looking at a future in the Armed Forces.
'We are very proud of our links with him. The least we could do was to offer the flypast, both in recognition of who he is but also what he has achieved.'
He celebrated his 111th birthday on board the Royal Navy's oldest warship, Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory, at Portsmouth, Hampshire.
A military flypast of aircraft from the Royal Navy's historic flight and the RAF marked the celebrations.
The Second Sea Lord, Vice Admiral Adrian Johns, and Veterans' Minister Derek Twigg were among dignitaries to share a celebratory lunch with him in the ship's Great Cabin.
Asked how it felt to be turning 111, Mr Allingham said: 'I'm pleased to be seeing another tomorrow.
'I'm happy to be alive. I never imagined I'd get to 111.'
Another flypast was organised for his 112th birthday, this time by a Lancaster bomber flanked by two Spitfires.
In September 2008, aged 112, he launched his autobiography at the RAF Club in London's Piccadilly - a place close to his heart as he had been a member of the force when it was founded in 1918.
He was joined by family, close friends and the co-author of the book, Dennis Goodwin, who is also founder of the First World War Veterans' Association.
Paying tribute to his old friend, Mr Goodwin said Mr Allingham was a recluse when he first met him.
'I think he has done so well to now because the more you engage people and focus attention on them, the more they develop a will to live,' he said.
'And that's the case with Henry. If he had been allowed to vegetate he would have disintegrated.'
Mr Goodwin, who was a close friend of Mr Allingham, said he was one of an 'extremely unique and special generation of people'.
'Not only did they survive the most horrific war of humanity but they had a new life to begin afterwards in an era of depression, and they did it admirably.
'I'm one of the products of that generation and I think my generation and other generation afterwards should remember that; it's a legacy they should create and keep in their memories.'
Mr Allingham left a legacy of memories to the nation, one of his friends said today.
Dennis Goodwin, from the First World War Veterans' Association, said: 'He left quite a legacy to the nation of memories of what it was like to have been in the First World War.'
Mr Goodwin told BBC News that Mr Allingham's longevity could be put down to his being 'essentially his own man'.
Helen Emmerson, the manager of the care home where he spent his last years, said he had been determined to tell the world about his experiences despite his age.
She said: 'I think particularly over the last six to nine months definitely he was finding it more and more difficult due to his advancing age.
'He had such strength and such strength of character. He wanted to get out there and spread the word.'
She told Sky News: 'He was tireless in his effort to get the word out there.'
Mr Goodwin, who was a regular visitor to Mr Allingham at St Dunstan's, described him as 'an exceptionally good friend'.
He added: 'He was almost a surrogate father to me, we shared life together.'
Describing the last few months of his life, he said: 'He wasn't in the best of health. He wasn't eating.
In September 2008, aged 112, he launched his autobiography at the RAF Club in London's Piccadilly - a place close to his heart as he had been a member of the force when it was founded in 1918.
He was joined by family, close friends and the co-author of the book, Dennis Goodwin, who is also founder of the First World War Veterans' Association.
Paying tribute to his old friend, Mr Goodwin said Mr Allingham was a recluse when he first met him.
'I think he has done so well to now because the more you engage people and focus attention on them, the more they develop a will to live,' he said.
'And that's the case with Henry. If he had been allowed to vegetate he would have disintegrated.'
Mr Goodwin, who was a close friend of Mr Allingham, said he was one of an 'extremely unique and special generation of people'.
'Not only did they survive the most horrific war of humanity but they had a new life to begin afterwards in an era of depression, and they did it admirably.
'I'm one of the products of that generation and I think my generation and other generation afterwards should remember that; it's a legacy they should create and keep in their memories.'
Mr Allingham left a legacy of memories to the nation, one of his friends said today.
Dennis Goodwin, from the First World War Veterans' Association, said: 'He left quite a legacy to the nation of memories of what it was like to have been in the First World War.'
Mr Goodwin told BBC News that Mr Allingham's longevity could be put down to his being 'essentially his own man'.
Helen Emmerson, the manager of the care home where he spent his last years, said he had been determined to tell the world about his experiences despite his age.
She said: 'I think particularly over the last six to nine months definitely he was finding it more and more difficult due to his advancing age.
'He had such strength and such strength of character. He wanted to get out there and spread the word.'
She told Sky News: 'He was tireless in his effort to get the word out there.'
Mr Goodwin, who was a regular visitor to Mr Allingham at St Dunstan's, described him as 'an exceptionally good friend'.
He added: 'He was almost a surrogate father to me, we shared life together.'
Describing the last few months of his life, he said: 'He wasn't in the best of health. He wasn't eating.
'He often said to me he'd love to eat something good and have a drink like the old times but his tastebuds had gone, and I think it really frustrated him.'
Mr Allingham's death means that Harry Patch, 111, the last survivor of the First World War trenches, is now Britain's oldest man. It is not yet known if he also now takes on Mr Allingham's title of world's oldest man.
Mr Patch, known as the Last Tommy, is Britain's last living soldier to have fought in the mud-soaked battle of Passchendaele in 1917 in which more than 70,000 British troops died.
He served as Lewis gunner with the 7th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and now lives at a residential home in Somerset.
Mr Patch often said: 'I neither smoke, drink nor gamble. Three sins - leave them alone.'
A third known Great War survivor, Claude Choules, 108, who served with the Royal Navy, now lives in Australia. He born in Worcestershire.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1200516/Goodbye-hero-World-War-I-veteran-worlds-oldest-man-dies-aged-113.html#ixzz0LbuZ63IG
Mr Allingham's death means that Harry Patch, 111, the last survivor of the First World War trenches, is now Britain's oldest man. It is not yet known if he also now takes on Mr Allingham's title of world's oldest man.
Mr Patch, known as the Last Tommy, is Britain's last living soldier to have fought in the mud-soaked battle of Passchendaele in 1917 in which more than 70,000 British troops died.
He served as Lewis gunner with the 7th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and now lives at a residential home in Somerset.
Mr Patch often said: 'I neither smoke, drink nor gamble. Three sins - leave them alone.'
A third known Great War survivor, Claude Choules, 108, who served with the Royal Navy, now lives in Australia. He born in Worcestershire.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1200516/Goodbye-hero-World-War-I-veteran-worlds-oldest-man-dies-aged-113.html#ixzz0LbuZ63IG
and..........
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NWN: The passing of a gentleman and indeed an icon. We are all the poorer for the passing of these men and they were real men. There should be a State Funeral for this old guy. RIP Henry !
29 comments:
Mr Allington lived through some very interesting times, he must have seen horrendous changes to our country and witnessed a lot of treachery from political leaders from the first world war up until now. The one thing that doesn't change is human nature and the British people have been conned again and again, be it fighting for freedom in 1939 or voting for Gri££in in 2009!
A true hero !
RIP Mr.Allingham.
Have you ever wondered, why opinions that the majority of people quite naturally hold are, if anyone dares express them publicly, denounced as 'controversial', 'extremist', 'explosive', 'disgraceful' and overwhelmed with violence and venom? It is because the whole power of the aggressor depends upon preventing people from seeing what is happening and from saying what they see." - Enoch Powell
REMEMBER !!!!
UKIP’s Link to Searchlight
Mark Croucher
We were asked by a reader for more information on the vetting of UKIP members by communist criminal Gerry Gable. Former UKIP member Anthony Scholefield revealed that Mark Croucher – UKIP’s communications director between 2001-2007 – passed members’ details to anti-democratic far-left organisations.
Anthony Scholefield, UKIP Secretary for three years stated: “A disturbing feature is that Mark Croucher, UKIP Press Officer, shows UKIP members’ details to Communists and Socialist Workers via Searchlight and Unite Against Fascism. Croucher reports to Farage.”
If only this generation could live up to the WW1 and Henry's generation.
RIP
Rest in peace Sir Job done Stand down!!!
Comparing Rothschild Zionists to Nazis to be Criminalised
'Parliament will be asked to consider whether the use of Nazi symbols and terms in reference to Jews, Israel and Zionism is breaking the law on incitement to racial hatred.
A new report by the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (EISCA) has highlighted the increasing use of what it terms the “Nazi card” in antisemitic discourse and has called for a number of measures to try to combat its spread.
“Playing the Nazi card” has been defined in the report as the use of Nazi-related terms or symbols — for example intertwining the swastika with the Star of David — while negatively referring to Jews, Israel, Zionism or other aspects of what it calls the Jewish experience.'
Calling Jews 'Nazis' may be criminalised
Parliament will be asked to consider whether the use of Nazi symbols and terms in reference to Jews, Israel and Zionism is breaking the law on incitement to racial hatred.
A new report by the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (EISCA) has highlighted the increasing use of what it terms the “Nazi card” in antisemitic discourse and has called for a number of measures to try to combat its spread.
“Playing the Nazi card” has been defined in the report as the use of Nazi-related terms or symbols — for example intertwining the swastika with the Star of David — while negatively referring to Jews, Israel, Zionism or other aspects of what it calls the Jewish experience.
The report, which was jointly published by EISCA and the Department for Communities and Local Government, recommends that the Home Office, the Association of Chief Police officers (ACPO) and the Crown Prosecution Service should prepare new guidance for the police on whether this kind of terminology amounts to incitement.
The report says that universities and adult education colleges should be surveyed to establish how they deal with antisemitic discourse.
It also suggests that the University and College Union and the National Union of Journalists use the EU Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia’s definition of antisemitism to improve their harassment policies.
Cohesion Minister Shahid Malik, who launched the report on Tuesday alongside EISCA chairman Denis MacShane MP, said: “It is vital to reiterate the significance which my government places on tackling this scourge which has blighted our world for centuries.
“Where antisemitic discourse flourishes unchecked, an atmosphere develops where Jews and other minorities — for it is certain that other minorities will also be targeted — feel isolated and vulnerable.
“Antisemitic discourse is not targeted at an identifiable victim but at Jews as a group.
“The tone in which issues affecting Jewish people are raised or addressed by politicians, the media, educators or the business world, affects the way in which Jewish people are perceived by the wider public.”
After the launch, Mr Malik said that the report’s proposals would be overseen by the cross-government working group set up as a result of the 2006 All-Party Parliamentary inquiry into antisemitism.
Also on Tuesday, the Community Security Trust published its second report on antisemitic discourse.
Author Mark Gardner, the CST’s communications director, said that while antisemitic discourse openly targeting Jews was “extremely rare” in mainstream British politics and media, “nevertheless, antisemitism is an important matter that must be better understood and challenged before it worsens any further”.
Contemporary antisemitic discourse, he argued, “is most often revealed in language and imagery that evokes the central antisemitic allegation of a powerful and hidden Jewish conspiracy against all non-Jews”.
As the British National Party’s first two MEPs took their seats in the European Parliament this week, the Centre for Social Cohesion published a report into the party’s online network, claiming that BNP members and self-professed BNP supporters continue to host, and link to online, material that is pro-Nazi, racist, antisemitic and homophobic.
Centre for Social Cohesion Criminals hide behind fancy name!!
Mr Allington was conned like most of our grand parents by what is known as the Trojan Horse tactic used for some 100,years now in this country by taking over the goverment from within and installing a N.W.O.order agenda.
OH DEAR MORE "THOUGHT CRIME"I BET MR ALLINGTON NEVER FOUGHT FOR THIS!
Sarah Kennedy 'spoken to' by BBC for praising Enoch Powell during Radio 2 show
Radio 2 presenter Sarah Kennedy has been chastised by the BBC for praising right-wing politician Enoch Powell during her show.
During her early-morning show on Wednesday, Kennedy, 59, described Powell as 'the best prime minister this country never had'.
Enoch Powell was famously sacked from the shadow cabinet by Ted Heath in 1968 'Rivers of Blood' speech about the dangers of mass immigration.
A spokesman for the BBC said that the corporation had received 25 complaints by Friday and that the presenter had been 'spoken to' about the remark.
A shocking miscarriage of justice occurred during the recent sex grooming trial of seven Muslims in Yorkshire when the jury was quizzed on whether or not they were members of the British National Party — and the judge forbade the media to report this fact.
The shocking intrusion — based purely on political grounds — was made before the trial started when the jury was asked if they had any connections to the BNP.
To make matters worse, Judge Peter Benson then made a court order forbidding the media to even report that the questioning took place — evidence by itself that he knew it was completely out of line.
The trial of the seven Muslims, who are unrepresentative of their community, resulted in three of them Mohammed Zackriya, 21; Mohammed Taj, 37; and Mohammed Shabir (Snr), a 36-year-old, father-of-five, all of Yorkshire, being found guilty of 28 sexual offences against an underage white girl. They were sentenced to a total of 18 years in jail.
Israeli Firms Accused of Profiting Off Holocaust
Analysts said the bank’s role is only the tip of an iceberg in which Israeli companies and state bodies could be found to have withheld billions of dollars invested by Holocaust victims in the country -- dwarfing the high-profile reparations payouts from such European countries as Switzerland, notes Jonathan Cook.
I.Littler.
LIKE RATS IN THE NIGHT!!!
MP exodus 'can boost diversity'
About one in five MPs is a woman
An exodus of MPs at the next election has provided a one-off chance to get more women and black people into the Commons, a special MPs committee says.
But Britain's political leaders must act now or - they may not get another chance for 20 years, the report adds.
Some 89 MPs have said they are standing down so far, many as a result of the expenses scandal.
The report calls for half of them to be replaced by women and a big increase in black, Asian, disabled and gay MPs.
UK democracy is under threat unless Parliament becomes more representative of the country as a whole, the cross-party panel says.
The committee, known as a Speaker's Conference, says MPs should be more representative of the UK as a whole.
If only this generation could live up to the WW1 and Henry's generation.
RIP
18 July 2009 15:42
...................................
Could you please explain your comment.
Young men living in mud and being massacred for business intrests,for German jewish king.I would hope young men today have more sense.
And i am not trying to trash the memory of all 1914-18 servicemen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUGVPBO9_cA
Head lines news!!!!
INDEED!!!
Fiscal ruin of the Western world beckons
For a glimpse of what awaits Britain, Europe, and America as budget deficits spiral to war-time levels, look at what is happening to the Irish welfare state.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/
comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/5857074/Fiscal-ruin-of-the-Western-world-beckons.html
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/030242.html
AFRAID SO ANOTHER SCUM BAG!!!!
Thank you to the person who sent in info about what is going on in the BNP nowadays.
Griffin knows about all this too.
NWN will be using this info in the best way possible for the white British people in the UK.
More soon............
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hFiab7fjak&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2
A MUST WATCH A BLACK MAN SUMS IT ALL UP.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8149362.stm
THE BBC WAS 3,DAYS LATE WITH THIS REPORT?
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article6718913.ece
I BET MR ALLINGTON WOULD HAVE BEEN WIDE TO THIS BASTARD!!!
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article6718913.ece
TEEEEEEEEEHEEEEEEEEEEEEE and a TEEHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
http://www.nationalpost.com/related/links/story.html?id=1791002
ANOTHER ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDxJgJRqPng&eurl=http%3A%2F%2
http://www.realzionistnews.com/?p=213
http://www.rense.com/general79/amake.htm
Interesting.
http://nogw.com/download/2005_il_tt_London_bus.pdf
BANDITS ATTACK!!!
Calais migrants ambush Britons at knifepoint in terrifying 'highway robberies'
Migrant gangs in Calais are targeting British holidaymakers in terrifying 'highway robberies'.
Would-be illegal immigrants are forming human roadblocks to force motorists passing through the French port town to stop.
Travellers are then robbed at knifepoint by the migrants, who are desperate for funds to help them sneak into the UK.
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