Posted on 07/21/2009 8:39:36 PM PDT by Libloather
Funeral date set for oldest man
Page last updated at 18:44 GMT, Tuesday, 21 July 2009 19:44 UK
A public funeral with military honours will be held for Henry Allingham, who was the world's oldest man before his death at the weekend at the age of 113.
Mr Allingham, one of the last surviving World War I servicemen, died at a care home for blind ex-service personnel in Ovingdean, near Brighton, on Saturday.
He joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1915, later transferring to the RAF.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said his funeral would take place at St Nicholas Church in Brighton on 30 July.
Mr Allingham, whose life spanned three centuries, was the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland.
An MoD spokesman said space within the church would be limited for members of the public wishing to pay their respects.
'Extremely unique'
He explained: "The funeral will be attended by Mr Allingham's family, who will be travelling from America for the service, and by senior representatives of HM Government and the Armed Forces.
"The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force in particular will be represented, with regard to Mr Allingham's service record."
**SNIP**
He was described by his friend and chaperone, Dennis Goodwin, as one of an "extremely unique and special generation of people".
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Should be, you've survived smoking, drink and women.
Well, there is that new health care thingy...
Sorry. Only wild, wild women would've helped. You're pretty much doomed...
Sorry to throw cold water on an entertaining thread, but in fairness to the memory of Henry, he was being a bit tongue-in-cheek about the “wild women”.
from his obit:
He would attribute his longevity to “cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women” then add that there had only been one woman for him – his beloved wife, who died in 1970.
That doesn't count. Henry Allingham was involved with wild, wild women. Please keep your evidence to yourself.
“Going forward at night to salvage parts of downed aircraft left him with a frightening memory of the war. ‘I fell into a shell hole. It was full of arms, legs, ears, dead rats — a lot of dead, rotten flesh. I was up to my armpits in water. I can’t describe the smell of flesh and mud mixed up together. I turned to my left … and I was able to lift myself out of the water. I lay there in the dark, not daring to move, cold and with my uniform stinking. I was frightened. I was scared. I was so relieved when it finally got light and I could move.’”
Imagine living with that memory - for 92 years.
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