Henry William Allingham (6 June 1896 – 18 July 2009) was a Great War veteran and, for one month, the oldest verified living man in the world.
Henry was the oldest ever surviving member of any of the British Armed Forces and the oldest surviving veteran of the Great War (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).
Because of his longevity and his World War I service he was also the recipient of many honours and awards From 2001 he had become the face of the World War I Veterans' Association and made frequent public appearances to ensure that awareness of the death and destruction of World War I was not lost to modern generations.
On 13 February 2007 he became the UK's second-oldest living person, and on 29 March 2009 the oldest ever British male. At age 113 years, 13 days, he became the oldest living man in the world. On 18 July 2009 Henry Allingham died of natural causes aged 113 years and 42 days.
Image source: Wikimedia
More on Henry Allingham's life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Allingham
