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World's oldest man laid to rest in Britain
Brighton, England (AFP) July 30, 2009 Hundreds of people paid their last respects Thursday at the funeral of Henry Allingham, the world's oldest man and a veteran of World War I, who died earlier this month aged 113. Allingham -- who jokingly put his longevity down to "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women" -- was given full military honours, including a flypast by five replica World War I aircraft. A single church bell tolled 113 times, once for each year of his life, in a ceremony in Brighton, on the English south coast near where he lived his final years in a care home. Crowds broke into spontaneous applause as his coffin, draped in the red white and blue of the Union flag, was borne by six servicemen into the small St. Nicholas church, where the service was held. Vice Admiral Sir Adrian Johns said Allingham had been a direct link to a past era. "Henry blew the dust off the history books for us, gave us an insight into our heritage and reminded us of our roots and those who have gone before us," he said. "I will never be able to forget him. I have been to many veterans' funerals but this is most special because it coincides with the end of an era," said Dennis Goodwin, founder and chairman of the First World War Veterans' Association. Many of Allingham's relatives had travelled from the United States to attend the funeral. Guests include senior officials from the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force (RAF), as well as Veterans' Minister Kevan Jones, and the Duchess of Gloucester, as patron of the First World War Veterans' Association. The minister said: "I am proud to be here to pay tribute to a remarkable man. Henry Allingham dedicated the final years of his long life to raising awareness of the sacrifices and bravery of his generation. Allingham died peacefully in his sleep on July 18, at the care home for blind ex-service personnel near Brighton where he had lived since 2006 after his eyesight deteriorated. He had become the world's oldest man on June 17 after the previous holder, Tomoji Tanabe of Japan, died aged 113. With his passing the world's oldest man now is a 112-year-old American, Walter Breuning. Allingham had five grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great grandchildren and one great-great-great grandchild. He witnessed three different centuries and saw six British monarchs on the throne. A mechanic in the Royal Naval Air Service, he took part in the naval Battle of Jutland in 1916 and was one of the founding members of the Royal Air Force. Allingham's death was followed a week later by that of Harry Patch, the last soldier to fight in the trenches of Europe during World War I, nicknamed "The Last Tommy." Share This Article With Planet Earth
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