Gladys Hooper

Gladys Hooper
Born Gladys Nash
(1903-01-18)18 January 1903
Dulwich, London, England
Died 9 July 2016(2016-07-09)
(aged 113 years, 173 days)
Ryde, Isle of Wight, England
Known for Oldest living person in the United Kingdom
Spouse(s) Leslie Hooper (m. 1922; d. 1977)
Children One son

Gladys Hermiston-Hooper (née Nash, 18 January 1903 – 9 July 2016)[1] was an English supercentenarian who became the oldest living person in the United Kingdom after the death of 114-year-old Ethel Lang on 15 January 2015.[2]

Early life

Hooper was born on 18 January 1903 in West Dulwich, South London.[3] In 1916, she witnessed the German airship Schütte-Lanz SL 11 being shot down by Leefe Robinson, who was later awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions.[4] Hooper also met Thomas Edison, co-inventor of the lightbulb, when he visited her school.[5] Hooper went to college with aviator Amy Johnson, the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia, they became friends, with Hooper saying "She was good fun and a very good friend". Hooper was also a concert pianist, and played with bandleaders including Jack Payne, Mantovani, Debroy Somers and Maurice Winnick.[6]

In 1922, at the age of 19, she married Leslie Hermiston Hooper, who had been a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. The couple's only child was son Derek, who also became a pilot.

Later life

Hooper was married for 55 years until her husband's death from Parkinson's disease in 1977. She moved to Sandown on the Isle of Wight in 1979, to be closer to her family.[7] She lived independently until the age of 101, when she moved to the town of Ryde, also on the Isle of Wight, to live with her son Derek.

Three days before her 112th birthday in January 2015, she became the oldest verified living person in Britain on the death of Ethel Lang, who was 114 years old.

In October 2015, at the age of 112, she had a hip replacement operation after falling out of bed and breaking her hip. She is believed to be the oldest person to have undergone such an operation.[8][9][10]

Hooper died on 9 July 2016 at Highfield Nursing Home in Ryde.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Current Validated Living Supercentenarians". Gerontology Research Group. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  2. ↑ Turner, Camilla (2015-01-17). "Britain's oldest person celebrates 112th birthday". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
  3. ↑ "112? I don't feel a day over 70, says Britain's newest oldest woman". Daily Mail. 2015-01-18. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  4. ↑ "Gladys Hooper describes what she saw in the First World War | Daily Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  5. ↑ Fryer, Jane (2015-01-21). "Amazing life of Britain's oldest woman". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  6. ↑ "Britain's oldest person celebrates 112th birthday". ITV. 2015-01-17. Retrieved 2015-01-31.
  7. ↑ "Isle of Wight woman Gladys becomes Britain's oldest person". Isle of Wight County Press. 2015-01-16. Retrieved 2015-01-31.
  8. ↑ "UK's oldest person breaks hip replacement record at 112". The Guardian. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Britain's oldest person Gladys Hooper has hip replacement at the age of 112". The Independent. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "UK's oldest person has hip replacement operation at 112". ITV. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "UK's oldest person, Gladys Hooper, dies aged 113". BBC News. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
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