UK's Oldest Person Turns 112
Florrie Baldwin Has Been Britain’s Oldest Resident for Over a Year
The Oldest person in Britain celebrated her 112th birthday with family and friends, and is one of the oldest living people on Earth.
Florrie Baldwin of Leeds is the oldest known person in the United Kingdom, and just celebrated her 112th birthday. This remarkable lady was born in March 1896, and is now one of the twenty-five oldest known living people in the world.
Life of the Oldest British Person
Mrs Baldwin grew up in Hunslet, and got married in 1919 to Clifford Baldwin. She worked for George Bray and Co, an engineering company, as a Clerk for half a century, and didn’t retire until the age of 76. After her husband passed away, Florrie lived on her own until the age of 105, when she moved into a nearby Nursing Home, where she has lived for the last seven years.
Many Generations
Mrs Baldwin has a large family that extends through four generations, including her daughter, two grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and five great-great grandchildren. She has received a remarkable nine letters from the Queen since turning 100. Last Year, Mrs Baldwin was featured in a documentary entitled “The Oldest People in the World”, where she was interviewed about her long life, and how it felt to be the oldest person in the UK.
A Supercentenarian
Mrs Baldwin became a Centenarian upon her 100th birthday, but when she turned 110 she became a Supercentenarian, an elite group of people who have lived for at least one hundred and ten years.
There are less than a hundred Supercentenarians alive today whose age has been verified by the Gerontology Research Group who study the oldest people in the world, although researchers indicate that there may be as many as three to four hundred in the world if we account for those who are undiscovered and those who lack proof of their age and cannot be verified.
Oldest British People
The oldest man in the UK is World War One Veteran Henry Allingham, who was born just a few months after Mrs Baldwin, in June 1896. Mr Allingham is 111 years old, and the second oldest man in the world along with American George Francis who was born on the same day!
The oldest person ever recorded in Britain is Charlotte Hughes who lived from 1877 to 1993, and reached the age of 115 years, 228 days.
Among the World’s Oldest Living People
Mrs Baldwin is now listed as the 21st oldest person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group, the organisation which provides the Guinness Book of Records with details of the oldest people. She is the 7th oldest person in Europe. The current oldest living person according to the Research Group is American woman Edna Parker, born April 1893. Mrs Parker is 114 years old, and will hopefully turn 115 later this month.
Article on the Oldest Person Ever
References:
Yorkshire Evening Post Article
